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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defected (from)
Verb
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The story centers on a man who travels to Pontianak carrying his deceased sister’s remains, hoping to honor her dying wishes while tracking down the father who deserted them.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025 -
In Cameroon, so many skilled officers have deserted from the military to fight for Russia in Ukraine for up to $3,000 a month, that in March, the Cameroonian government instituted a ban on uniformed men from leaving the country.—
Alia Brahimi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even Microsoft, once Google’s fiercest rival in the browser space, eventually abandoned its own engine and rebuilt Edge on Chromium.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
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The San Francisco Chronicle’s Mackenzie Chung Fegan abandoned anonymity on day one, and the New York Times’ dual critics Tejal Rao and Ligaya Mishan went as far as starring in several videos to announce their tenure at the paper.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Much of the derision was coming from the performers’ contemporaries — some of whom had rejected the invite on moral and political grounds, but many who were not actually invited to perform.—
Kevin Dolak,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Oct. 2025
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Some 88 percent of mice rejected pancreatic cancer, 75 percent of mice did for breast cancer and 69 percent rejected melanoma tumors.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
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“Defected (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defected%20%28from%29. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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