as in deserting
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defecting (from)
Verb
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Goodbye Amazon Go Amazon is abandoning its homegrown physical grocery stores, known as Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh, a humbling end to an effort that began almost ten years ago as the online giant sought to expand its retail dominance into the brick-and-mortar world.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026 -
But the sudden thaw in relations with Washington has fueled suspicion among hard-line chavistas that Rodríguez is abandoning the movement’s deeply anti-American ideology.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Many callers are rejecting the dichotomy of Republican and Democratic labels when sharing personal political views.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
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In the end, Mindy says their story has never been about rejecting tradition, but expanding the idea of what love and partnership can mean.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Instead, prune these shrubs after the flowers have begun to fall off in late spring to avoid cutting off the buds that will be next year’s blooms.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
12 Jan. 2026
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The Iranian government has increasingly cracked down on demonstrators in recent days, cutting off internet access and phone lines in Tehran in the middle of last week.—
Jared Gans,
The Hill,
12 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defecting (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defecting%20%28from%29. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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