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
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 That definition is pretty outdated, as these days a renegade is anyone who breaks laws or expectations to do their own thing or join the other side.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.
Ortiz’s brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., who was second in the Derby with Renegade, will be next to him in the No. 5 post aboard Talkin.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
At least Renegade is in the field, and Nick Tammaro, making the Derby morning line for the first time, still has the Arkansas Derby winner as the 4-1 favorite in the field of 20.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
“They could have been apple-shaped before, and now it’s like their entire midsection is dramatically smaller than it ever was before,” said Harris, the owner of Renegade Bridal & Dye Lab in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
Renegade female entrepreneurs such as Kimora Lee Simmons and Leah McSweeney, who respectively founded Baby Phat and Married to the Mob, are sidelined.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
The hero of the Renegade is a Republican politician who turns Bonapartist, and who finally commits suicide something after the fashion of M. Prevost-Paradol, whose career, it is indeed said, suggested the book.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 20, September, 1877. by Various
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.
