as in abandonment
the act of abandoning
the soldiers were imprisoned for desertion of their posts
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Recent Examples of desertion
It has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in America's Old West and as a tool of terror and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
—
Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2025
During the Civil War, firing squads were common for executing soldiers for desertion; in some cases, they would be blindfolded and tied to stakes before being shot.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
The true reason of growing desertions lays in low morale and patriotism of recent conscripts who never wanted to defend their homeland and were caught and forced to do that.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025
Large-scale desertions among Russian conscripts might follow.
—Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for desertion
Arkansas Online, 12 Apr. 2025
During the Civil War, firing squads were common for executing soldiers for desertion; in some cases, they would be blindfolded and tied to stakes before being shot.
—Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
The true reason of growing desertions lays in low morale and patriotism of recent conscripts who never wanted to defend their homeland and were caught and forced to do that.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 25 Jan. 2025
Large-scale desertions among Russian conscripts might follow.
—Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2022
See All Example Sentences for desertion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desertion
abandonment
Noun
-
While Beijing hasn’t gone as far as Moscow, its quiet abandonment of the denuclearization goal marks a subtle yet consequential shift – one that could open the door to closer China-North Korea ties, or even bolster momentum for trilateral cooperation with Russia, Zhao said.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
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People can handle uncertainty, but not abandonment.—
Daisy Auger-Domínguez,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desertion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desertion. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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