RECREANTS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

recreants

noun

plural of recreant

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

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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

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as in traitors

one who betrays a trust or an allegiance a spy and recreant to his country

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreants

Noun

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

Definition of deserters

Noun

Abby became suspicious of Kuehl during a private conversation about possible traitors in the group.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Abraham and Szor, both Israeli filmmakers, have been denounced as traitors in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has threatened to revoke their citizenship.

— Justin Chang, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of traitors

Noun

But the rebels earlier acknowledged targeting Saudi airports and oil and military installations in recent days.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
The kingdom launched a major offensive last week to support Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis, but the rebels have so far held their ground.

— Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

Customers can choose from Korean-style short ribs, beef shank, whole fish on ice, a variety of shellfish, goat meat, silkie chickens, squab, woodland duckling and specialty pork cuts.

— Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
Her family planned to ride out the storm at home, roughly a half-mile from shore, sheltering indoors alongside their flock of chickens.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of chickens

Noun

They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.

— Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
International sanctions persisted, and PF’s ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents continued their liberation war.

— Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

In some ways, there is a strange kind of unity to these three—all are set during the Depression, all feature stylish renegades.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
There are Sixties rock bands like the Sonics and the Small Faces, and pioneering hippie renegades like Love or the Thirteenth Floor Elevators.

— Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026

Definition of renegades

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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recreant

recreants

recreate

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“Recreants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreants. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of recreants

noun

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