deserter

[dih-zur-ter]

noun

1. a soldier or draftee who leaves or runs away from service or duty with the intention of never returning.

   Deserters from the rebel army tell of low morale among its remaining fighters.

2. a person who fails to uphold a cause or who abandons someone else, especially in violation of a promise or obligation.

   Some of those remaining in the home country view emigrants living abroad as deserters from their mother culture.

   A family deserter is one who can but will not support a spouse or dependents.

Other Word Forms

• predeserter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deserter¹

desert ² ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Related Words

• defector 
• escapee 
• lawbreaker