as in abandonment
the act of abandoning
the soldiers were imprisoned for desertion of their posts
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Recent Examples of desertion
During the Civil War, the crew of a Confederate ship, along with Union soldiers convicted of rape, murder, desertion and other offenses, were imprisoned there.
—
Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2025
He was returned to Russia in January through a prisoner exchange after talks mediated by the United Arab Emirates, and subsequently charged with voluntary surrender, attempted voluntary surrender on at least one other occasion, and desertion.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
Also, some draft-age men have moved abroad, while desertions have undermined the army.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Despite receiving some $60 billion in aid since 2001, Afghanistan’s military has suffered from chronic problems with morale and desertion, especially in regions of intense conflict, such as Helmand Province.
—Mara Karlin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for desertion
Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2025
He was returned to Russia in January through a prisoner exchange after talks mediated by the United Arab Emirates, and subsequently charged with voluntary surrender, attempted voluntary surrender on at least one other occasion, and desertion.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
Also, some draft-age men have moved abroad, while desertions have undermined the army.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 Feb. 2025
Despite receiving some $60 billion in aid since 2001, Afghanistan’s military has suffered from chronic problems with morale and desertion, especially in regions of intense conflict, such as Helmand Province.
—Mara Karlin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2017
See All Example Sentences for desertion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desertion
abandonment
Noun
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But much to my surprise and delight, Ryu Hayabusa’s continuation into the realm of AAA 3D action elites once again does not mean the abandonment of where the series started this time around.—
David Jagneaux,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
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Vallow Daybell was arrested in February 2020 in Hawaii, where she and Chad Daybell got married, on child abandonment counts.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desertion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desertion. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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