as in to desert
to leave (a cause or party) often in order to take up another
soldiers defected from the rebel army en masse as the failure of their cause became apparent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect (from)
Verb
-
For 80 years the lighthouse sat deserted.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2026 -
Albuquerque’s fleet had been struck by famine, and many of his men had deserted him.—
Sanat Pai RaikarAll,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Putin, for his part, will not abandon Hungary if Orbán falls.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Although most polls show that many Hungarians have abandoned Orban and his Fidesz party and plan to vote for change, the long-serving prime minister remains deeply popular among large parts of Hungarian society — particularly among older voters and those in the smallest settlements.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
A day earlier, Iran rejected a 15-point proposal offered by American negotiators.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
In response to the lawsuit, a government lawyer argued that forcing USCIS to lift the pause on Al Ghoula’s application and others like it could result in swift denials, warning that the applications would probably be rejected because security vetting is incomplete.—
Michal Ruprecht,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The price of oil has rocketed since the war began to highs not seen in years, as shipments are largely cut off through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that normally carries one-fifth of the world's oil.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The country has managed to find alternatives to some of the technology it has been cut off from, such as high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia competitors.—
Arjun Kharpal,
CNBC,
7 Apr. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Defect (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect%20%28from%29. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
