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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect (from)
Verb
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These folks won’t desert their teams, no matter how many NFL Sundays end in heartache.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026 -
The streets below were strangely empty for a weekday morning, and Madison Square Park, visible through the scaffolding, was deserted save for a few people and their pets braving the day’s frigid winds at the dog park.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His car was later found abandoned, and authorities began searching the area.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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To garrison those vulnerable treasure houses, Britain had to reassign regiments from tours of duty in North America and abandon Philadelphia, the biggest prize the redcoats had taken so far.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And the British nations, as ever, remained aloof, England rejecting a late offer to step in for Austria.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Democrats are pushing to extend soon-to-expire health care tax credits and reverse earlier Medicaid cuts, but Republicans have rejected those proposals.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The easiest way to cut into a pomegranate is to cut off the peel near the blossom end.—
Mary Ann Esposito,
Boston Herald,
7 Jan. 2026
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One congressman suggested that Washington should sooner cut off his own hand than sign a bill that would see his likeness on a coin, a move that would put him in the company of Nero and Caligula.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defect (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect%20%28from%29. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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