as in traitor
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
we had orders to find and capture the deserters before they could reveal our location
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Recent Examples of deserter
But the group also used it as a tool of execution against deserters, inadvertently showcasing the brittleness of a regime that had to use fear to motivate even its mercenary soldiers to stay in the fight.
—
Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Russia is also reported to have forcibly sent hundreds of its military deserters to the front line in Ukraine.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
Its return hearkens back to other periods in American history when firing squads were more common, such as the colonial era and the Civil War, when it was used against deserters.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Mar. 2025
Badghis and Faryab, along the line demarcating Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, are in particularly poor shape as deserters leave behind dwindling numbers of guards.
—George Gavrilis, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2015
See All Example Sentences for deserter
Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Russia is also reported to have forcibly sent hundreds of its military deserters to the front line in Ukraine.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
Its return hearkens back to other periods in American history when firing squads were more common, such as the colonial era and the Civil War, when it was used against deserters.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Mar. 2025
Badghis and Faryab, along the line demarcating Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, are in particularly poor shape as deserters leave behind dwindling numbers of guards.
—George Gavrilis, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2015
See All Example Sentences for deserter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserter
Noun
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As security officer of the Maginot, Morrow abandons his post to kill the traitor — allowing the ship to continue its collision course into Earth.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo, who has been actively lobbying against Brazil in Washington, have both been branded as traitors by Lula supporters.—
HUSSEIN KALOUT,
Foreign Affairs,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The New York Times in 2015 reported that hundreds of Colombian mercenaries had been sent to Yemen to fight against the Houthi rebels, hired directly — and in secret — by the UAE.—
Rebecca Johns,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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Tapping into your inner rebel as of late, Sagittarius?—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As a result, work in the Texas House, including the passage of several bills unrelated to redistricting, ground to a halt and arrest warrants were issued for the renegade lawmakers, though these couldn't be enforced outside Texas.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
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VCs raining money on said brilliant renegades, despite signals that the market wasn’t quite mature enough and money was being lit on fire?—
Cortney Harding,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Several other exiles in London — oligarchs and defectors — who died under mysterious circumstances in the early 2000s.—
Andy Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Aug. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Deserter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserter. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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