DEFECTED (FROM) Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

defected (from)

verb

past tense of defect (from)

as in deserted

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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for defected (from)

Verb

Aden's airport was deserted after the Houthi warning, airport employee Salem Al-Awlaqi told The Associated Press.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
Propped up by strong finishing, Tottenham were on 11 points at this stage a year ago, but soon reverted to their relegation-battling baseline once that ruthlessness deserted them.

— Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of deserted

Verb

The passenger voluntarily abandoned the claws at the checkpoint, the TSA said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
But big pharmaceutical companies have largely abandoned the quest for new antibiotics, because the research and development needed to discover them is time-consuming and expensive.

— Zoë Schiffer, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of abandoned

Verb

She’s gotten used to trying, and trying again; while applying for fiction writing classes in college, Adeyemi says, she was rejected five semesters in a row.

— Wisdom Iheanyichukwu, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026
The three Republicans on the court backed the proposal, arguing the poll sites were underutilized, while the two Democrats rejected it.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of rejected

Verb

Police in South Africa have arrested five suspects in connection with a violent farm robbery in the North West province in which a 50-year-old farmer was shot and had his ears cut off.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026
The village of Chama in New Mexico was evacuated and cut off by road closures.

— Christopher Weber, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of cut off

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defected (from)

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“Defected (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defected%20%28from%29. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of defected (from)

verb

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