1
as in deserters
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
an apostate from communism, he later became one of its harshest critics
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in traitors
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
became an apostate to liberalism after he had gotten wealthy
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Recent Examples of apostates
In Iran, Baha’is are considered to be apostates and face persecution, marked by extreme violence including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention.
—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostates
Noun
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Another aspect is that Netanyahu might have traitors in his government, like legitimate traitors that infiltrated.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
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Opponents aren’t just wrong anymore — they’re painted as traitors or existential threats.—
Marly Berlin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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VCs raining money on said brilliant renegades, despite signals that the market wasn’t quite mature enough and money was being lit on fire?—
Cortney Harding,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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Fleeing persecution in this little schoolhouse, we were suddenly transformed into renegades, dissidents.—
Chandler Fritz,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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The proceeds from the arms sales were then used to fund right-wing, anti-communist rebels, known as the Contras, in Nicaragua.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This might enable a mission which, for example, a Viper is located covertly next to a safe house known to be used by insurgents.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The state Republicans have routinely witnessed battles between far-right insurgents who in recent years have complained the party isn’t Trumpy enough and the financial institutional wing that has long been the GOP establishment and funded the party for decades.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Apostates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostates. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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