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 2020, CalGEM ordered AllenCo to plug the wells after if determined the company had essentially deserted the site, leaving the wells unplugged and in an unsafe condition.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026 -
Harris is already signaling that she isn’t done with her political career, doing interviews on her book tour and teasing a potential comeback this week online targeting Gen Z voters who deserted the party in 2024.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The building, a former power plant abandoned in the ‘80s, looms over the crowd like a monolithic temple to techno.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The cab would be abandoned and the trailer would be hitched to another truck, court documents show.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
More than 300 district judges in Minnesota and elsewhere have so far rejected the government’s mandatory detention policies, ordering detainees released or granted bond hearings.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
-
That happened recently in Kansas City – where voters rejected a new stadium – and Philadelphia, where the team reversed its decision to build the arena near the city’s Chinatown.—
Gidon Jakar,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Washington has upped pressure in a bid to replace Havana’s communist regime, cutting off oil shipments and, by extension, the economy.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
17 Feb. 2026
-
First responders cut off her camo shorts to care for her that day, and a photo of the shorts was shown in court.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 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
“Defected (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defected%20%28from%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
