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
They were charged with desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 8 Apr. 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
They were charged with desertion of a child and abandonment of an animal.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 8 Apr. 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
-
The investigation into the baby's abandonment is ongoing, with police asking anyone with information to come forward.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Beneath her white coat and calm demeanor lived a woman weathered by trauma, grief, and emotional abandonment.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desertion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desertion. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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