deserter

noun

de·sert·er di-ˈzər-tər

plural deserters

Synonyms of deserter

: a person who deserts

… the deserter of his father in his last days, betrayer of his brother in his captivity …—Amy Kelly

especially : a member of a military force who abandons service without leave

a wartime deserter

But now that Anderson has been AWOL for more than 30 days, he is known in the U.S. military as a deserter, facing the possibility of years in jail. —Daniel Eisenberg

At a prison camp for German army deserters, Herold ordered the execution of more than 100 soldiers. —Michael Phillips

Examples of deserter in a Sentence

we had orders to find and capture the deserters before they could reveal our location

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

The first homesteader was an army deserter from Fort Duchesne to the north. — Erwin A. Bauer, Outdoor Life, 14 Oct. 2026 Intimate drama set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, where a young Ukrainian deserter finds refuge with an elderly woman and forms an unlikely bond. — Annika Pham, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for deserter

Word History

Etymology

desert entry 3 + -er entry 2, after Latin dēsertor and French déserteur

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of deserter was in 1631

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Deserter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deserter. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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deserter

noun

Synonyms of deserter

Examples of deserter in a Sentence

Word History

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