as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
a band of renegades who had deserted their infantry units and were making their way to Mexico
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in apostate
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of renegade
Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
Holding hands, terrace kisses and renegade servants?
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The city’s battles with renegade first-time Councilmember Tony Blain, a tree removal project planned for public safety, the opening of the West Village Poway Apartments and new e-bike regulations were among the big stories in Poway this year.
—Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for renegade
Noun
The renegade group of aldermen who passed the budget against Johnson’s will forced the meeting after Johnson’s administration paid only half of a roughly $260 million advance payment to help fund the city’s woefully underfunded public pensions.
—Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
Holding hands, terrace kisses and renegade servants?
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
The renegade baseball general manager in Moneyball, for instance, was later played by Brad Pitt, while the characters in The Big Short were portrayed by Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, and Pitt again, among others.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
The city’s battles with renegade first-time Councilmember Tony Blain, a tree removal project planned for public safety, the opening of the West Village Poway Apartments and new e-bike regulations were among the big stories in Poway this year.
—Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for renegade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for renegade
Noun
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This notably happened during the Civil War with enlistment bounties to track down deserters.—
Michael Smolens,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Dec. 2025
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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
Noun
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Maybe not the most famous biopic but a quite effective one, with Paul Muni as the 19th-century French writer who speaks up for a Jewish captain tagged as a traitor.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
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Fears have been growing for the fate of the women after they were branded traitors by state media last week, for failing to sing the national anthem before their opening match of the Asian Cup, which is being held in Australia.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This nontraditional version of gamja jeon is crispy on the outside and tender-chewy on the inside.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
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Just over 68% of kids in the system were White, though Black kids on average spent more time in nontraditional placements than their peers.—
Lucas Aulbach,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Winnie Cheung, United States, 2025 A motorcycle rebel spirals deeper into her erotic hallucinations in order to escape the grip of a sultry serpent woman.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Mar. 2026
-
My mother was a freewheeling rebel who was far from being a caretaker.—
Via Scribner,
Literary Hub,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That kind of chaos could easily spill over Iran’s borders, and not just by land; the Persian Gulf is narrow, and would not pose much of an obstacle to terrorists or insurgents who cross it in speedboats.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2026
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Paxton will counter that Texas runoffs often reward insurgents.—
Gromer Jeffers Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In 2023, the island even began to allow defectors to represent the national team in the World Baseball Classic.—
Tyler Carmona,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
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Another pattern to watch is that of defectors from the IRGC.—
Felice Friedson,
New York Daily News,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Renegade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/renegade. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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