as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
the defector demanded political asylum in exchange for information about his nation's spying operations
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Recent Examples of defector
According to Rensch, Kamp took it upon himself to make sure that the boy received special chess training – including hiring the former Soviet defector, Igor Ivanov – and providing funds and transport so Rensch could travel to tournaments around Arizona and the country to test his skills.
—
Ben Morse, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
The approach extended to the creative process, with extensive consultation with North Korean experts and defectors throughout production.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
Two of whom, Seok and Hyuk, gained attention for their emotional story as North Korean defectors-turned-K-pop idols.
—Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Several other exiles in London — oligarchs and defectors — who died under mysterious circumstances in the early 2000s.
—Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Researchers said the report was based on interviews with defectors and officials around the world, as well as declassified documents, satellite images and open-source information.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2025
Local rights for baseball, which would help ESPN limit subscriber defectors, are on Pitaro’s list of keepers.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Putin, a former Russian intelligence officer who has been in power for more than two decades, has a long record of silencing and even allegedly ordering assassinations of his detractors and defectors.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 4 June 2025
Ben Morse, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025
The approach extended to the creative process, with extensive consultation with North Korean experts and defectors throughout production.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
Two of whom, Seok and Hyuk, gained attention for their emotional story as North Korean defectors-turned-K-pop idols.
—Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Several other exiles in London — oligarchs and defectors — who died under mysterious circumstances in the early 2000s.
—Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Researchers said the report was based on interviews with defectors and officials around the world, as well as declassified documents, satellite images and open-source information.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2025
Local rights for baseball, which would help ESPN limit subscriber defectors, are on Pitaro’s list of keepers.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Putin, a former Russian intelligence officer who has been in power for more than two decades, has a long record of silencing and even allegedly ordering assassinations of his detractors and defectors.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 4 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defector
Noun
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More important, though, is the fact that the judge who posited that hordes of deserters could follow Vovchenko’s example seems to be overstepping his role.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
25 Oct. 2025
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Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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When an anarchist frames one of them for treason, another is determined to track down a traitor.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
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The competition show takes place in Scotland and has cast members divided into two groups, traitors and faithfuls, and the faithfuls try to vote off the traitors to win a cash prize.—
Jenni Fink,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Paso Robles is independent, even a bit renegade.—
Justin Goldman,
AFAR Media,
24 Oct. 2025
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For years, Hollywood content creators have warned about piracy, whether through bootleg VHS tapes, or BitTorrent, or renegade streaming providers.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The apparent killing – captured on video shared online by the rebels themselves – took place at a university medical school in El Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took over the city on Sunday.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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As regular troops in French service, the British treated them as prisoners of war instead of Jacobite rebels, and eventually repatriated them to France.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That revelation prodded insurgents in British possessions from Ireland to Sierra Leone to take to the streets to assert their own ambitions for economic and political autonomy over the decades to come.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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Ilana presents herself as a stout-hearted reformer who’s being targeted by fascistic insurgents but is secretly evil enough to engineer an apocalypse.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defector. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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