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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Dionysius of Heraclea, caught in a health crisis, abandoned Stoicism for the pleasures of the Cyrenaics — only to be branded a traitor by former allies who saw his change of heart as proof of weakness.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
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The bandit takes the pair into Shaybani territory, where he is treated with suspicion, to the extent that he is considered a traitor and condemned to die.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The rebels, led by Deepak Rauniyar and Binod Paudel, fired off a scathing letter to the Academy demanding a full investigation and threatening to blow up Nepal’s Oscar dreams entirely.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Sep. 2025
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Directed by the iconic Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another stars DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson, a vigilante and former rebel who is on the run from Penn's Officer Steven Lockjaw.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But a few renegades creatively defected across the pond, looking instead at America for inspiration.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
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Lopez posted lookbooks on Facebook and staged renegade runway shows—during, but outside, the main calendar of New York Fashion Week.—
Ana Karina Zatarain,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The approach extended to the creative process, with extensive consultation with North Korean experts and defectors throughout production.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
25 Sep. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Deserter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserter. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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