defection
desertion from allegiance, loyalty, duty, or the like; apostasy: His defection to East Germany was regarded as treasonable.
failure; lack; loss: He was overcome by a sudden defection of courage.
Origin of defection
1Opposites for defection
Other words from defection
- non·de·fec·tion, noun
- re·de·fec·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use defection in a sentence
He had neglected his army to the point where there were mass desertions and even defections to Mongol ranks.
In Threatening Baghdad, Militants Seek to Undo 800 Years of History | Justin Marozzi | August 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe one silver lining for Democrats is that defections were lower than expected.
Consider first the number of possible Democratic defections.
Facing heavy casualties and defections, the government seems to have shifted its focus away from quantity to quality of fighters.
Their numbers have been bolstered by an uptick in military defections.
Syria: Would a No-Fly Zone Help the Rebels Oust Assad? | Barak Barfi | September 11, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
In spite of these defections, the experiment was not without effect upon English merchants.
The Eve of the Revolution | Carl BeckerHere, at least, was a citadel impregnable by right-hand defections or left-hand extremes.
Tales and Fantasies | Robert Louis StevensonThere were also defections among the kings, for Amyntas and Deiotarus went over to Cæsar.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV | Aubrey StewartThe "Phases of Faith" describes, it will be remembered, the gradual course of Mr. Newman's defections from his original orthodoxy.
Studies of Christianity | James MartineauOnce when Noemi was relating to Jeanne certain defections, certain acts of coldness, she suddenly burst into tears.
The Saint | Antonio Fogazzaro
British Dictionary definitions for defection
/ (dɪˈfɛkʃən) /
the act or an instance of defecting
abandonment of duty, allegiance, principles, etc; backsliding
another word for defect (def. 1), defect (def. 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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