as in traitors
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 deserters
And within his own country’s history, particularly, Dhont discovered the fates that met would-be deserters who were caught — brutal sentences often leading to death.
—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
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
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,
25 Oct. 2025
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,
20 Oct. 2025
Despite opposition to busing, particularly among White families who comprised much of Louisville's Catholic population, Archbishop McDonough vowed in 1974 that his schools would not become the home of public school deserters.
—
Krista Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
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
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,
25 Oct. 2025
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,
20 Oct. 2025
Despite opposition to busing, particularly among White families who comprised much of Louisville's Catholic population, Archbishop McDonough vowed in 1974 that his schools would not become the home of public school deserters.
—
Krista Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserters
Noun
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Keep your actual and suspected traitors closer – the non-loyal, uncommitted, secretive, suspicious, dishonest, deceitful, chronically negative, and regularly undermining.
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Both groups were accused of being spies, traitors and collaborators, according to the report.
Noun
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That's partly because eastern Congo is also battling ongoing violence from rebels.
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That’s partly because eastern Congo is also battling ongoing violence from rebels.
Noun
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People didn’t come to the series with a working knowledge of the State Department, ready to see what the renegades were like.
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The men who once styled themselves renegades increasingly resembled every other hyper-online young guy—gaming, memeing, trading.
Noun
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Ocasio-Cortez, who may be eyeing a House leadership role or Senate bid, has stayed out of key New York City-area House races, unlike Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sanders, who are backing insurgents trying to oust incumbents.
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Two very different—and very close—insurgents Warshaw’s path to this race runs through the places where New York’s biggest problems actually live.
Noun
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Anthropic, whose ranks include many safety-minded defectors from its rival, argues the slower rollout will help society adapt to the powerful new tools.
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Disclosure Day, based on an original story by Spielberg, centers on a decades-long government conspiracy to cover up the existence of alien life, and the group of defectors intent on releasing that intel to the public.
Cite this Entry
“Deserters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserters. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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