as in deserters
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 defectors
South Korean officials confirmed details of Kim’s defection, and his descriptions of hardships faced by North Koreans mirror numerous accounts defectors shared with CNN.
—
Mike Valerio, CNN Money, 19 Apr. 2026
Evangelicals have mostly stuck by Trump, even with prominent defectors such as Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore and New York Times columnist David French railing against widespread Christian support for the president, given his personal life and tendency to make incendiary statements.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
One of those defectors referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in his decision.
—Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
One of those defectors referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as helping in his decision.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Chalker was asked to come up with a plan to recruit other scientists, and began by reading old cable traffic about how the agency had handled Soviet defectors in the John le Carré days.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Parties have mostly voted in blocks on major issues in recent years, with small numbers of defectors increasingly rare.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 27 Mar. 2026
Mirrors were such a precious commodity in the heyday of the Venetian Republic that the assassins were dispatched to, well, dispatch any defectors who left La Serenissima and tried to take the secrets of creating that mesmerizing, reflective surface along with them.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
Some regimes were and are particularly brutal towards defectors, not least Hungary in the 1940s.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Mike Valerio, CNN Money, 19 Apr. 2026
Evangelicals have mostly stuck by Trump, even with prominent defectors such as Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore and New York Times columnist David French railing against widespread Christian support for the president, given his personal life and tendency to make incendiary statements.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2026
One of those defectors referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in his decision.
—Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
One of those defectors referenced Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as helping in his decision.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Chalker was asked to come up with a plan to recruit other scientists, and began by reading old cable traffic about how the agency had handled Soviet defectors in the John le Carré days.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Parties have mostly voted in blocks on major issues in recent years, with small numbers of defectors increasingly rare.
—Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 27 Mar. 2026
Mirrors were such a precious commodity in the heyday of the Venetian Republic that the assassins were dispatched to, well, dispatch any defectors who left La Serenissima and tried to take the secrets of creating that mesmerizing, reflective surface along with them.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
Some regimes were and are particularly brutal towards defectors, not least Hungary in the 1940s.
—Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defectors
Noun
-
Harry Truman granted amnesty to certain World War II deserters, while Jimmy Carter granted pardons to hundreds of thousands of individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.—
Stewart Ulrich,
The Conversation,
15 Dec. 2025
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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
Noun
-
It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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Having been labeled traitors in Iran and following reports that some of their families had been threatened, the players then sang before their other two matches.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Why isn’t Homelander lasering these rebels immediately?—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
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Eastern Congo has experienced some of its worst violence in years, with M23 rebels seizing large parts of North Kivu and advancing toward the regional capital, Goma, disrupting road links and border crossings.—
Tiisetso Motsoeneng,
semafor.com,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 2024, insurgents led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched to Damascus and removed Assad from power.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
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While serving a tour of duty outside the province of Kandahar in Afghanistan in August of 2011, he was ambushed by Taliban insurgents disguised in Afghan National Army uniforms.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The men who once styled themselves renegades increasingly resembled every other hyper-online young guy—gaming, memeing, trading.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
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But in order to remain a meaningful platform for creative renegades, the festival needs to also take risks.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defectors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defectors. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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