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desert
4 dictionary results for: deserter
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·sert2       [di-zurt] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object)
1.to leave (a person, place, etc.) without intending to return, esp. in violation of a duty, promise, or the like: He deserted his wife.
2.(of military personnel) to leave or run away from (service, duty, etc.) with the intention of never returning.
3.to fail (someone) at a time of need: None of his friends had deserted him.
–verb (used without object)
4.to forsake or leave one's duty, obligations, etc. (sometimes fol. by from, to, etc.): Many deserted during the food shortage.
5.(of military personnel) to leave service, duty, etc., with no intention of returning: Troops were deserting to the enemy.

[Origin: 1470–80; < MF déserter < LL désertāre, freq. of L déserere; see desert1]

de·sert·ed·ly, adverb
de·sert·ed·ness, noun
de·sert·er, noun

1. Desert, abandon, forsake mean to leave behind persons, places, or things. Desert implies intentionally violating an oath, formal obligation, or duty: to desert campaign pledges. Abandon suggests giving up wholly and finally, whether of necessity, unwillingly, or through shirking responsibilities: to abandon a hopeless task; abandon a child. Forsake has emotional connotations, since it implies violating obligations of affection or association: to forsake a noble cause.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·sert 3       (dĭ-zûrt')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   de·sert·ed, de·sert·ing, de·serts

v.   tr.
  1. To leave empty or alone; abandon.
  2. To withdraw from, especially in spite of a responsibility or duty; forsake: deserted her friend in a time of need.
  3. To abandon (a military post, for example) in violation of orders or an oath.

v.   intr.
To forsake one's duty or post, especially to be absent without leave from the armed forces with no intention of returning.


[French déserter, from Late Latin dēsertāre, frequentative of Latin dēserere, to abandon : dē-, de- + serere, to join; see ser-2 in Indo-European roots.]

de·sert'er n.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
deserter

noun
1. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. 
2. a person who abandons their duty (as on a military post) 

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Deserter

De*sert"er\ (?), n. One who forsakes a duty, a cause or a party, a friend, or any one to whom he owes service; especially, a soldier or a seaman who abandons the service without leave; one guilty of desertion.

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