apostate

American  

[uh-pos-teyt, -tit] / əˈpɒs teɪt, -tɪt /

noun

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

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adjective

1. of or characterized by apostasy.

apostate British  

/ ˌæpəˈstætɪkəl, əˈpɒsteɪt, -tɪt /

noun

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

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adjective

1. guilty of apostasy

Usage

What does apostate mean? An apostate is someone who has totally abandoned or rejected their religion. It can also be used in a slightly more general way to refer to someone who has totally abandoned or rejected their principles, cause, party, or other organization. The word typically implies that before the rejection, one had a strong connection or involvement. The act of such abandoning or rejecting is called apostasy. Both apostasy and apostate are usually used in a way that’s critical of such abandonment—or that at least implies that others who remain in the religion or cause are critical of the departure. Apostate is sometimes used more specifically to refer to someone who rejects Christianity, but the term is also used in the context of other religions, such as Islam. Less commonly, apostate can be used as an adjective meaning guilty of apostasy or characterized by apostasy, as in He was condemned for his apostate writings. Example: The pastor’s sermon condemned apostasy—the trouble is, the apostates weren’t there to hear it.

Other Word Forms

• apostatical adjective
• apostatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of apostate

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin apostata, from Greek apostátēs, equivalent to apósta(sis) apostasy + -tēs, noun suffix

Explanation

An apostate is someone who has deserted his cause. The word apostate originally comes from a Greek word that meant "runaway slave." Now, apostate has a religious or political tone to it, so someone might call you "a political apostate" if you ran for office as a Republican during one election and then ran as a Democrat in the following election.

Example Sentences

“When you detransition, you’re seen as an apostate, and it’s not fair and it’s not right. I don’t hate anyone. I really don’t.”

From Washington Times • Mar. 14, 2023

The Met in return has promised to have a dozen works by Guston — Abstract Expressionism’s greatest apostate — on view at all times for the next 50 years.

From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2023

Featuring one of the first interviews with recent Amazon apostate Tim Bray.

From The Verge • Jun. 1, 2020

And in 1796: “The world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 17, 2020

My father never went along, having become an apostate at the age of eight over the exorbitant price of votive candles.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides