SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
defector
noun
Someone who leaves a group, cause, or country to join another, often opposing, side.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Person who changes allegiance
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topApostate often concerns religion; a deserter may abandon a post without joining an opposing side.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See defector in use
The fictional council learned that a defector had joined its rival faction.
A defector in the story game left the River League and carried its route map to the rival Hill Alliance, which accepted him as a member.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
- WordNet 3.0: selected lexical senses
- DEFECTOR Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
- DEFECT Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license