defector

[ dih-fek-ter ]

noun

1. a person who defects from a cause, country, alliance, etc.

Other Words From

• nonde·fector noun
• rede·fector noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of defector¹

1655–65; < Latin dēfector renegade, rebel, equivalent to dēfec- (variant stem of dēficere to become disaffected, revolt, literally, to fail; defect ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

The only other sports entity that has framed its existence around fair labor practices for its athletes is the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association, filled with defectors of the more traditional National Women’s Hockey League.

From FiveThirtyEight

Guiding such legislation through the House will be a challenge for Pelosi because her party’s narrow majority means just a handful of defectors could be fatal.

From Fortune

Park Sang-hak, another defector turned activist, says some North Koreans returned after encountering legal problems.

From Ozy

Lee’s family members, who have denied he was a defector, have called for a United Nations investigation.

From Ozy

Park, of Liberty in North Korea, says that responsibility lies with the South Korean government and civil society groups to improve the programs for resettling defectors.

From Ozy

Lankov and Delury make a commonsense point, but Jang, a defector to Seoul, maintains that Kim was removed from power last year.

From The Daily Beast

According to one defector from Harun Yahya, Oktar had sex with all of the “sisters” in the group.

From The Daily Beast

Here was the most recognizable face of radical British politics—a defector.

From The Daily Beast

Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon A North Korean defector tries to capture peace in Brazil after the Korean War.

From The Daily Beast

High-profile defector Manaf Tlass, for example, has been floated by some as a possible leader in transitional plans.

From The Daily Beast

Would it be usual for the defector to agree to advise you if he got a contact?

From Project Gutenberg

Here was a defector who comes within the category of interesting cases naturally.

From Project Gutenberg

Does a defector or an attempted defector fall in that category?

From Project Gutenberg

But there are only very few such as Mr. Oswald, or people in the defector category.

From Project Gutenberg

It would, but defector is not a statutory term or one that has real technical significance.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• deserter
• renegade
• turncoat