noun
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a person who deserts his or her cause or faith for another; apostate; traitor
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( as modifier )
a renegade priest
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any outlaw or rebel
Etymology
Origin of renegade
First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish renegado, from Medieval Latin renegātus, noun use of past participle of renegāre “to desert”; see renege
Explanation
A renegade is a person who has deserted their cause or defied convention; they're rebels and sometimes outlaws, or even traitors. A long, long time ago, a renegade was a Christian person who decided to become Muslim. That definition is pretty outdated, as these days a renegade is anyone who breaks laws or expectations to do their own thing or join the other side. It might sound kind of cool to be a renegade, like some rogue action hero. But in general, renegade actions are frowned, not smiled, upon.
Vocabulary lists containing renegade
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“There is a chemical, metallic taste to it that makes one think it was created in some renegade CIA lab.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Inspired by mushrooms, coral reefs and a renegade aesthetic influenced more by experience than formal education, it’s the culmination of 25 years of learning and design for the Pennsylvania-born, California-based Flemming brothers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
But I find it hard to conceive that the image her leadership so desperately courts—a renegade broadcast company, steelier, rawer, and ineffably realer than its competitors—will ever take hold.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
But the woman that people came to know on-screen as the bow-wielding renegade Katniss Everdeen — and off-screen as a goofy straight-shooter — was vilified by the media, discredited for the crime of being herself.
From Salon • Nov. 7, 2025
She wipes away a renegade tear with the back of her hand.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
