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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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

To me, the most notable change — outside of Robert not getting fully naked, you cowards — is that the meltdown is witnessed by much more of the senior class.

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
In reality, the refs just do the bidding of the cowards behind the curtain.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 14 July 2026

Definition of cowards

Noun

The team was criticized in Iran and branded as traitors in the media there for remaining silent when the Iranian national anthem was played ahead of their opening loss against South Korea on March 2.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
Ortiz vowed to interrogate and, if necessary, kill any traitors who thwarted him and Simon.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of traitors

Noun

Saudi diplomats had notified US lawmakers in August of a breakdown in political channels with the Houthis and the rebels’ plans to escalate against the kingdom, and sought Washington’s backing to push back, the source said.

— Becky Anderson, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
Government forces have reclaimed territory from the Houthis in the provinces of Hodeida and Taiz, and attacked the rebels in the northern province of Jawf as well as the central provinces of Marib and Bayda.

— Samy Magdy, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

Many of the 9/11 hijackers, for instance, initially went to Afghanistan with the intention to acquire skills and connections before traveling onward to Chechnya to fight alongside Chechen insurgents against Russian security forces.

— Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 8 Sep. 2026
The insecurity landscape is also more chaotic because some groups, after initially being invited to help defend against insurgents, turned into terrorists, said Dengiyefa Angalapu, an analyst at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 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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recreants

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“Recreants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreants. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of recreants

noun

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