as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
the plot of the story revolved around the gangster's relentless determination to learn the identity of the turncoat
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Recent Examples of turncoat
This is less a chant and more a fireworks show celebrating the permanent expungement of all turncoats and pests.
—
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turncoat
traitor
Noun
-
One White South African called Rupert a traitor to his fellow Afrikaners in a social media post.—
Larry Madowo,
CNN Money,
22 May 2025
-
Some of my children have called me a Nazi, a traitor.—
Beatrice Weber,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Turncoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turncoat. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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