apostate

[ uh-pos-teyt, -tit ]

/ əˈpɒs teɪt, -tɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR apostate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.

adjective

of or characterized by apostasy.

Nearby words

aposematic, aposematic coloration, aposiopesis, apospory, apostasy, apostate, apostatize, apostaxis, aposthia, apostil, apostilb

Origin of apostate

1300–50; Middle English < Late Latin apostata < Greek apostátēs, equivalent to aposta- (see apostasy) + -tēs noun suffix

Related formsap·o·stat·i·cal·ly

[ap-uh-stat-ik-lee] /ˌæp əˈstæt ɪk li/, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for apostate

“To the fundamentalist leadership of al-Qaida, Saddam represented the worst kind of ‘apostate’ regime,” they wrote.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec. 14|PunditFact.com|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At first, he was sentenced to execution for being an apostate.
Wife of Jailed Saudi Blogger: My Husband Is a Victim of the Thought Police|Ensaf Haidar, Advancing Human Rights|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Godane rejects the idea of Al-Shabab negotiating with the Somali federal government, an “apostate government” he dubs it.
Ahmed Abdi Godane Is Al-Shabab's Osama bin Laden|Jamie Dettmer|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In an article entitled “In the words of the enemy,” it describes Obama as a “crusader, apostate.”
It'll Take More Than Bombs to Stop ISIS|Dean Obeidallah|September 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Because my passion so far has been exposing government-funded sacred cows and disrupting statist narratives, I am an apostate.
James O’Keefe in Defense of Taping Mitch McConnell, and Everyone Else|James O'Keefe|April 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
During the late reign Johnson had published a book entitled Julian the Apostate.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
At Rosedale an apostate Isabella Dayvill was sent back to do penance in 1321.
Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535|Eileen Edna Power
If not by Iamblichus, this work issued certainly from his school, to which Julian the Apostate belonged.
Giordano Bruno|James Lewis McIntyre
Now, you mustn't think, from all this, that I am an apostate from the principle of Women's Rights.
Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From Home|Bayard Taylor
Even a charlatan can be good alone; an apostate can be wise alone; a fool can be pious alone.
The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century|Leo Wiener

British Dictionary definitions for apostate

apostate

/ (əˈpɒsteɪt, -tɪt) /

noun

a person who abandons his religion, party, cause, etc

adjective

guilty of apostasy

Derived Formsapostatical (ˌæpəˈstætɪkəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apostate (1 of 2)

apostate

mid-14c., "one who forsakes his religion or faith," from Old French apostate (Modern French apostat) and directly from Late Latin apostata, from Greek apostasia "defection, desertion, rebellion," from apostenai "to defect," literally "to stand off," from apo- "away from" (see apo-) + stenai "to stand." Used in non-religious situations (politics, etc.) from mid-14c.

Word Origin and History for apostate (1 of 2)

apostate

adj.

late 14c.; see apostate (n.).

apostate

noun

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of apostate

Examples from the Web for apostate

British Dictionary definitions for apostate

apostate

noun

adjective

Word Origin and History for apostate (1 of 2)

apostate

Word Origin and History for apostate (1 of 2)

apostate