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
-
But classrooms sat half-empty and the playground was deserted.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026 -
As befits such an environment, his handling of tactile stuff—not just silk and fur but bread and brickwork, too—never deserted him.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The three-block stretch, between 16th and 19th avenues, looks markedly different from just a year ago, when tents, abandoned cars and piles of trash crowded the street and sidewalks.—
Da Lin,
CBS News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
What to read next The USSR withdraws troops from the border with Afghanistan, as Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev abandons invasion plans to focus his resources on the Space Race.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Hezbollah strongly rejected the talks.—
Tucker Reals,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Weinstein’s precipitous downfall came after the New Yorker and The New York Times published explosive investigative reporting in late 2017 accusing him of habitually preying on women from his powerful perch in Hollywood and blacklisting those who rejected him.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Then, the livestream abruptly cuts off.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
-
The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as a great deal of shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 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 21 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
