DEFECTORS Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

defectors

noun

plural of defector

as in deserters

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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Recent Examples of defectors Its policy is to accept and support defectors from North Korea; more than 34,000 have arrived since the end of the Korean War. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026 The South legally regards the North as part of its territory and has a policy of accepting and financially supporting North Korean defectors. — ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026 South Korean research has documented possible signs of radiation exposure in defectors from North Korea who lived near the test site, but scientists said the cause remains unclear. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2026 But the new work found that if the rewards change with time (even by a small amount), then a second stable point emerges from the model, allowing both cooperators and defectors to coexist. — Chris Lee, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026 Sources include defectors, informants and individuals who remain embedded within movements while passing information to outsiders. — Arie Perliger, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026 Anthropic, founded by OpenAI defectors, is now expected to be the first of the two companies to go public, two people familiar with its plans say, with the IPO as early as September. — Alex Heath, Time, 26 Aug. 2026 The documentary tracks students at the Jangdaehyun School in Busan, South Korea – an institution serving North Korean defectors and their families. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026 But intelligence officials previously told The Associated Press that Russia's security services are now more brazen in their choice of targets, going after Russian activists and foreign supporters of Ukraine as well as military defectors. — CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defectors

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
Harry Truman granted amnesty to certain World War II deserters, while Jimmy Carter granted pardons to hundreds of thousands of individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.

— Stewart Ulrich, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025

Definition of deserters

Noun

Abby became suspicious of Kuehl during a private conversation about possible traitors in the group.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Abraham and Szor, both Israeli filmmakers, have been denounced as traitors in Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has threatened to revoke their citizenship.

— Justin Chang, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of traitors

Noun

The rebels recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
The rebels urged their forces to continue fighting and called on Tigrayans to support them.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of rebels

Noun

They’re seen as oligarchs, as the people with wealth and power, controlling our lives—not as outsider insurgents.

— Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
International sanctions persisted, and PF’s ZANLA and ZIPRA insurgents continued their liberation war.

— Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of insurgents

Noun

In some ways, there is a strange kind of unity to these three—all are set during the Depression, all feature stylish renegades.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
There are Sixties rock bands like the Sonics and the Small Faces, and pioneering hippie renegades like Love or the Thirteenth Floor Elevators.

— Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026

Definition of renegades

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“Defectors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defectors. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defectors

noun

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