defected

American  

[dih-fek-tid] / dɪˈfɛk tɪd /

adjective

1. having deserted a country, cause, etc., especially in order to adopt another.

   In the movie White Nights, a defected Soviet dancer is returned to his motherland when the plane he’s on is forced to land in Russia.

2. defective.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of defect.

Etymology

Origin of defected

First recorded in 1585–95; defect + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; defect + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

A Reform UK councillor in Leicestershire has defected to a new party recently launched by MP Rupert Lowe.

From BBC

Adam Holloway, the former Conservative MP for Gravesham in Kent, who has now defected to Reform UK, helped the Chagossians return to the territory and remains on the island to help build the settlement.

From BBC

Anthropic has sought to distinguish itself from its main rival, OpenAI—from which its founders defected in 2020—by focusing on serving the enterprise market.

From The Wall Street Journal

Warrington's only Reform councillor has defected to the Conservatives, and said his former party had deemed the council's financial issues as "not a priority".

From BBC

Due to their elevated roles in society, only a handful of North Korea’s hackers or cyber operatives are known to have defected over the decades.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• abandon
• abscond
• depart
• desert
• pull out
• quit
• reject
• renounce
• revolt
• withdraw