as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
the plot of the story revolved around the gangster's relentless determination to learn the identity of the turncoat
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Recent Examples of turncoat
This is less a chant and more a fireworks show celebrating the permanent expungement of all turncoats and pests.
—
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turncoat
traitor
Noun
-
Eric Coomer, who was the security and product strategy director at the voting equipment company, sued the MyPillow founder and conspiracy theorist for calling him a traitor and accusing him of stealing the 2020 election.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
17 June 2025
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The faithfuls must determine who the traitors are and banish them from the game in order to win the grand prize.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Turncoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turncoat. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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