noun
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a person who deserts his or her cause or faith for another; apostate; traitor
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( as modifier )
a renegade priest
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any outlaw or rebel
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of renegade
First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish renegado, from Medieval Latin renegātus, noun use of past participle of renegāre “to desert”; see renege
Explanation
A renegade is a person who has deserted their cause or defied convention; they're rebels and sometimes outlaws, or even traitors. A long, long time ago, a renegade was a Christian person who decided to become Muslim. That definition is pretty outdated, as these days a renegade is anyone who breaks laws or expectations to do their own thing or join the other side. It might sound kind of cool to be a renegade, like some rogue action hero. But in general, renegade actions are frowned, not smiled, upon.
Vocabulary lists containing renegade
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"If a renegade came in, we might struggle," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Time marches on, and one era’s sensational renegade becomes a footnote in the next.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Standard CD20 antibodies are an established treatment for MS, with the antibodies targeting the renegade autoimmune cells that damage nerve sheaths.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
To many, the sight of Paul being clapped into cuffs may have even burnished her renegade image.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
“I think so—a few renegade witches from Volgorsk, unless they’ve fled too,” he told her.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
People didn’t come to the series with a working knowledge of the State Department, ready to see what the renegades were like.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
The vaunted intelligence service of close ally, Cuba, has worked to identify plots and renegades, with intelligence officers placed in every unit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
Bio praised the "gallant security forces" for repelling the "renegades" and said calm had been restored.
From Reuters ● Nov. 26, 2023
“As the combined team of our Security Forces continue to root out the remnant of the fleeing renegades, a nationwide curfew has been declared and citizens are encouraged to stay indoors,” he wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2023
But before I knew it, our entire party was sitting around the campfire like a gang of renegades in an old Western.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
