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 That definition is pretty outdated, as these days a renegade is anyone who breaks laws or expectations to do their own thing or join the other side.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.
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
“There is a chemical, metallic taste to it that makes one think it was created in some renegade CIA lab.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
To many, the sight of Paul being clapped into cuffs may have even burnished her renegade image.
From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026
But I find it hard to conceive that the image her leadership so desperately courts—a renegade broadcast company, steelier, rawer, and ineffably realer than its competitors—will ever take hold.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
To them I am only Adah or, to my sisters sometimes, the drear monosyllabic Ade, lemonade, Band-Aid, frayed blockade, switchblade renegade, call a spade a spade.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
