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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defected (from)
Verb
-
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 -
Advertisement Advertisement The numbers are catching up to a story being told by locals and visitors for several months now, of an eerily empty Vegas Strip and deserted casino floors.—
Solcyré Burga,
Time,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Tropicana abandoned the glass of orange juice just six weeks after rolling it out and brought back the old orange-with-a-straw.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The revision of Merriam’s unabridged masterpiece was abandoned.—
Stefan Fatsis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
She was discovered by a photographer in the lobby of a modeling agency that had just rejected her.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Neither Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin nor the camp representing star forward Kirill Kaprizov are saying much after the team’s potentially history-making first contract offer was reportedly rejected.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 2025
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
“Defected (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defected%20%28from%29. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share