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
-
Further up Lake Street, there are signs of a slow recovery at the Plaza Mexico, with customers sitting at tables that were deserted during the winter.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
10 June 2026 -
His form may desert him, or injury might intervene.—
Graham Scott,
New York Times,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
One of Wood’s earliest conversations with Reid centered on abandoning the heeled footwear that helped define earlier versions of the character.—
Precious Fondren,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
-
Jessie is thrilled, but her enthusiasm is crushingly fleeting, as Emily abandons Jessie with other items in a donation box on the side of the road.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
19 June 2026
Verb
-
Israel’s request to see the text was rejected by the US, an Israeli source told CNN.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
-
The legal case, decided at an emergency hearing in a Los Angeles courthouse on Monday morning, was brought by an Iranian fan who said FIFA’s block impinged freedom of speech, but the judge rejected that argument.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Throughout the episode, Whoopi Goldberg struggled to cut to commercial break, repeatedly having to cut off her co-hosts in heated interactions with the vice president.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
16 June 2026
-
Prices soared as the supply was effectively cut off, and shipments probably will take a long time to return to pre-war levels.—
Mae Anderson,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 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 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
