DEFECTOR Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

defector

noun

Definition of defector

as in deserter

a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right the defector demanded political asylum in exchange for information about his nation's spying operations

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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 defector Golf's media establishment mocked defectors as sellouts and eagerly counted down the days until LIV's collapse. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026 The ending of Agent Kim Reactivated Heading into the season finale, Agent Kim has managed to evade SMD capture by protecting defector Ri Eung-ryeong during the intergovernmental talks between North Korea and South Korea. — Kayti Burt, Time, 27 July 2026 Note the poster of the defector Mikhail Baryshnikov hawking Crime and Punishment. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026 Anthropic, whose ranks include many safety-minded defectors from its rival, argues the slower rollout will help society adapt to the powerful new tools. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 17 June 2026 Daisy appears to be a Canadian defector hoping for acceptance within Gilead, but she’s actually been recruited as a spy by Moss, who continues her role as June Osborne from The Handmaid’s Tale. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 17 June 2026 The Cubs sign Cuban defector Jorge Soler to a nine-year contract worth $30 million. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026 Disclosure Day, based on an original story by Spielberg, centers on a decades-long government conspiracy to cover up the existence of alien life, and the group of defectors intent on releasing that intel to the public. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026 Anthropic, the lab founded by its own defectors, confidentially filed this week at a near $1 trillion valuation. — Rory McDonald, Fortune, 6 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defector

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
The love story of a Confederate deserter (Jude Law) journeying back to his North Carolina home and his love (Nicole Kidman) drives the Civil War drama.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 7 Mar. 2026

Definition of deserter

Noun

His tenure was upended by the arrest of Aldrich Ames, a CIA traitor.

— Bob Drogin, Washington Post, 22 July 2026
In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Definition of traitor

Noun

But instead of employing a ball gown, glass slippers, and a grand carriage made from a pumpkin, the renegade maid comes to her damsel in distress armed with a different kind of escape plan—one involving an axe and a double parricide.

— Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 4 Aug. 2026
Wang plays down the potential for renegade robots to wreak havoc.

— Charlie Campbell, Time, 23 July 2026

Definition of renegade

Noun

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery Sunday, a major crude oil refinery located on the Red Sea coast in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

— Ibrahim Dahman, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
Attacks could draw retaliation and reignite Yemen’s war Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile.

— Fatma Khaled, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of rebel

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“Defector.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defector. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of defector

noun

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