1
as in deserter
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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2
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
became an apostate to liberalism after he had gotten wealthy
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in renegade
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of apostate
Bernard Haykel, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2024
If the conflict in Syria is a religious war against apostates rather than a geopolitical scuffle, more militants will be drawn toward the conflict and away from the crown.
—Andrew L. Peek, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2016
Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming and an ardent conservative, is an apostate for modern times.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023
The latter — driven by an apocalyptic, millenarian creed — had embarked on a frenzy of killing, torture, grisly execution and abductions of civilians from communities of supposed apostates and enemies.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for apostate 
Noun
All the while, Islamist leaders throughout the Muslim world have vilified Riyadh as a U.S. lackey and an apostate regime.
—Bernard Haykel, Foreign Affairs, 12 Feb. 2024
If the conflict in Syria is a religious war against apostates rather than a geopolitical scuffle, more militants will be drawn toward the conflict and away from the crown.
—Andrew L. Peek, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2016
Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming and an ardent conservative, is an apostate for modern times.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023
The latter — driven by an apocalyptic, millenarian creed — had embarked on a frenzy of killing, torture, grisly execution and abductions of civilians from communities of supposed apostates and enemies.
—Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for apostate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apostate
Noun
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Knight, a Mississippi farmer and Confederate deserter, led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the American Civil War.Travis Bean, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
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Because of the security risks faced by Russian deserters, pseudonyms are used throughout.Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
Noun
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Like Trump, Carlson appeals to his base by positioning himself as a class traitor—not a man of the people, exactly, but an apostate from the cosmopolitan élite.Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cumming will lead a new group of 21 traitors from across a variety of other reality series.Anne Easton, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Winner of the Jury Prize and a collective Best Actress Award at Cannes, renegade auteur and HIFF alum Jacques Audiard’s (RUST AND BONE, DHEEPAN) latest odyssey is an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations.Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
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The speech came just six months after a white mob had laid waste to Greenwood, violently rebuking calls for social equality, political rights and the end of renegade lynch law.Victor Luckerson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024
Noun
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The rebels have threatened new attacks in response to Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon and its killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
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The Israel-Hamas war has intensified other conflicts in the Middle East, including attacks on international shipping lanes by Yemen’s Houthi rebels and between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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The potential members of a schismatic Catholic sect are located in areas of the world such as the United States, where the church has significant financial resources and assets, plus a wide array of independent Catholic institutions that operate largely outside the hierarchy of the church.Massimo Faggioli, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
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But Barzani’s setback only birthed a schismatic new cadre of Kurdish leaders.Behnam Ben Taleblu, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2017
Noun
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Boko Haram is a Nigerian insurgent group that started fighting in 2009 to oppose Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law.Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
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Republicans didn't plan on spending millions of dollars to defend Senator Deb Fischer, but Osborne's insurgent campaign has taken off.ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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At one point, host Daniel Pfeiffer asked about the campaign’s nontraditional media strategy, a key approach for Harris and President-elect Donald Trump’s campaigns.Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 27 Nov. 2024
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Lately, various writers with meaningful personal resources—money, followers, notoriety—have struck out on their own or made nontraditional arrangements.Lora Kelley, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Since the end of the civil war in 1991 and the withdrawal of Syrian forces in 2005, Lebanon's sectarian politics have largely been divided into two blocs, one supportive of Assad and the other opposed to him.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
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Many people are traumatized or in mourning; others talk manically about dethroning Hezbollah, and perhaps with it, Lebanon’s centuries-old system of sectarian power-sharing.Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near apostate
Cite this Entry
“Apostate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apostate. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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