DEFECTING Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

defecting 1 of 2

adjective

as in apostate

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Dissimilar Words

defecting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of defect

as in emigrating

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defecting

Adjective

The president can call out the army against seceding states and their renegade congresspeople.

— Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
As a substitute, the district had hired a renegade hippie, Bromley Stokes, who’d recently washed up in town.

— Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Definition of renegade

Verb

But by rooting her tale in Maya’s family ties, the writer-director explores the complicity of well-to-do South Asian diasporas, and the foundations that afford them the luxury of emigrating in the first place.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
That simple, honorable point about the dignity of emigrating remains painfully controversial in Dean’s home country and here.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026

Definition of emigrating

Verb

Ravishing and deeply enigmatic, Venus doesn’t do anything subtle when journeying through the Underworld.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2026
Many of the missing are Hindu pilgrims, who were journeying to Kailash Mansarovar, a high-altitude site in Tibet revered by Hindus and Buddhists.

— Diaa Hadid, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of journeying

Verb

North Korean state media photos showed the girl dressed in a white dress and blazer walking alongside her father on a red carpet, touring the warship and posing with sailors together.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Sep. 2026
Lizzie and O’Neil also drifted apart as the actress continued touring with her theater company.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of touring

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“Defecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defecting. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of defecting

adjective

verb

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