as in deserters
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of renegades
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
But a few renegades creatively defected across the pond, looking instead at America for inspiration.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025
VCs raining money on said brilliant renegades, despite signals that the market wasn’t quite mature enough and money was being lit on fire?
—Cortney Harding, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Otago is often referred to as one of New Zealand's youngest wine regions, given that, as recently as the mid-1990s, there were only a handful of vineyards run by renegades experimenting to find out which grapes thrived in the climate.
—David Amsden, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Aug. 2024
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
But a few renegades creatively defected across the pond, looking instead at America for inspiration.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025
VCs raining money on said brilliant renegades, despite signals that the market wasn’t quite mature enough and money was being lit on fire?
—Cortney Harding, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.
—Chandler Fritz, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Otago is often referred to as one of New Zealand's youngest wine regions, given that, as recently as the mid-1990s, there were only a handful of vineyards run by renegades experimenting to find out which grapes thrived in the climate.
—David Amsden, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for renegades
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
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
-
The rebels’ final push to victory would take them right past the front door of Cardenas’ three-quarter-acre hacienda.—
Ed Guzman,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
Paris intervened in Mali in 2013 when a jihadist insurgency threatened to spin out of control, and led a largely Western force in fighting jihadist rebels.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Many advanced states understand the need for some kind of violent reaction to terrorists or insurgents, usually as a task for special-operations forces.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Both political insurgents were elected under extraordinary circumstances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Renegades.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/renegades. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
