1
as in deserters
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
traditionally armies have dealt harshly with recreants, with execution being a common punishment for desertion during wartime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cowards
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the historian reserved his greatest contempt for those recreants who opposed the witch hunt but lacked the courage to speak out against it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in traitors
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
a spy and recreant to his country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreants
Noun
-
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,
Air Mail,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Parties aside, the majority of our legislators are cowards.—
Sam Meas,
Boston Herald,
2 Mar. 2026
-
And Trump calls ’em almost like cowards.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The president has spent a decade calling his rivals communists and traitors, among other hyperbolic insults.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Military culture is fiercely self-protective, and soldiers who criticize it are usually treated as traitors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Mali was struck late last month by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in Bamako and several other cities by jihadis and rebels who seized several towns and military bases.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
-
The rebels were fully aware of these other colonies and sought to include them.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
He was loaded with schoolmates into a truck once used to haul chickens and was left in the summer heat before spending three nights in an overcrowded jail cell without a bed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
-
From feeding chickens at a Harlem farm to cracking jokes about the Boston Tea Party during the White House state dinner, the monarch, alongside his wife Queen Camilla, delivered a steady stream of viral moments that showed a lighter, more personal side of the royals.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
That song’s twangful snarl — wonderfully sung by Clark, a star recording artist in her own right — is a reminder that these insurgents are also preservationists, capable of delivering old-fashioned pleasures to please the purists.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Since insurgents ousted former President Bashar Assad in December 2024, dozens of members of his security agencies that were blamed for atrocities during the conflict have been arrested.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The men who once styled themselves renegades increasingly resembled every other hyper-online young guy—gaming, memeing, trading.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
-
But in order to remain a meaningful platform for creative renegades, the festival needs to also take risks.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
11 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Recreants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreants. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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