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
-
Tehran’s streets are deserted Tehran’s streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026 -
Within minutes, the square was deserted.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the island seems as forlorn and abandoned as any time since the fall of the Soviet Union.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Friday’s race was a replacement for the downhill five weeks ago at Swiss resort Crans-Montana, abandoned after Vonn crashed and tore the ACL in her left knee.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Khan was sentenced Monday after San Joaquin Superior Court Judge Richard Mallett rejected his motion to withdraw his no contest plea in the criminal case, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday in a news release.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
4 Mar. 2026
-
McClain and three other runners who followed the lead vehicle appealed after their protest of the order of finish was rejected.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The Middle East is a major producer of both oil and natural gas, but its energy exports have now been largely cut off from the rest of the world by an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Companies are investing heavily, making structural bets, and cutting off their own escape routes.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 Mar. 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 9 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
