as in to desert
to leave (a cause or party) often in order to take up another
soldiers defected from the rebel army en masse as the failure of their cause became apparent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defect (from)
Verb
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More than 50,000 Russian troops have deserted and gone absent without leave since Russia widened its war on Ukraine three years ago, according to a new report from Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025 -
The Miami Herald spoke to more than a dozen former clients who say they were similarly deserted by Farrow after paying him thousands of dollars to take on their cases.—
Ben Wieder,
Miami Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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High in the thin Alaskan air, where abundant oxygen had long abandoned such firmaments for lower altitude, five women knelt circled against the piercing cold.—
Cassidy Randall,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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The suspension of programs supporting the promotion of democracy in authoritarian countries, a bipartisan U.S. foreign policy for decades, has left experts wondering if the Trump administration has abandoned that goal.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
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More than 16,000 of our members sent messages to Congress urging them to vote no on Trump's budget proposal and asking them to reject the Christian nationalist ploy to pit vulnerable communities against each other for the benefit of the few.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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Focusing on personal strengths, practicing self-compassion and challenging negative self-perceptions can help alleviate beliefs that you are bound to be rejected or hurt by others.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The sound of gunshots rang out, after which people started running and the video abruptly cut off.—
Reuters,
NBC News,
6 Mar. 2025
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Trump is cutting off the Ukrainians, and taking some pressure off the Russians, just as the Ukrainians—with their increasingly deadly drones and artillery—may be on the cusp of turning the tide of the wider war.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defect (from).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defect%20%28from%29. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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