renegade

[ren-i-geyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR renegade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who deserts a party or cause for another.

an apostate from a religious faith.

adjective

of or like a renegade; traitorous.

Origin of renegade

1575–85; < Spanish renegado < Medieval Latin renegātus (noun use of past participle of renegāre to desert, renege), equivalent to re- re- + neg-, base of negāre to deny + -ātus -ade¹

Synonyms for renegade

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR renegade ON THESAURUS.COM

1. traitor, deserter, betrayer, dissenter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for renegade

reactionary, heretic, insurgent, deserter, dissident, defector, traitor, mutineer, revolutionary, radical, outlaw, recreant, apostate, runaway, rebel, tergiversator, double-crosser, turncoat, fugitive, betrayer

Examples from the Web for renegade

Contemporary Examples of renegade

What does that promising growth mean for the renegade brewers at Casa Bruja?
House of the Witch: The Renegade Craft Brewers of Panama
Jeff Campagna
November 30, 2014
To paraphrase the renegade philosopher Hannibal, I love it when science comes together.
Glaciers Lose 204 Billion Tons of Ice in Three Years
Matthew R. Francis
October 5, 2014
One of the strongest of the anti-Islamists is a renegade general, Khalifa Haftar, who is fighting in the east.
Libya’s Proxy Apocalypse
Jamie Dettmer
August 27, 2014
Earlier this year, Miller responded to calls to stand with Cliven Bundy and declared common cause with the renegade rancher.
Hatriot Politics Created the Las Vegas Killers
John Avlon
June 10, 2014
This is not a renegade observation; it is a commonplace among experts on the case.
Equality Matters More Than Integration in Schools
John McWhorter
May 15, 2014

Historical Examples of renegade

I told him to kill you, you lying, renegade Injun—and if he couldn't, I can!
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
But he had seen some renegade priests and had despised them.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
"One does not hinder the other," said the renegade, dissembling.
Gomez Arias
Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
"I have saved you from his infernal machinations;" said the renegade.
Gomez Arias
Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
But for thee, proud man, I might have been a hero, and for thee I am a traitor and a renegade.
Gomez Arias
Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

British Dictionary definitions for renegade

renegade

noun

a person who deserts his or her cause or faith for another; apostate; traitor
(as modifier)a renegade priest

any outlaw or rebel

Word Origin for renegade

C16: from Spanish renegado, from Medieval Latin renegāre to renounce, from Latin re- + negāre to deny

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for renegade

1580s, "apostate," probably (with change of suffix) from Spanish renegado, originally "Christian turned Muslim," from Medieval Latin renegatus, noun use of past participle of renegare "deny" (see renege). General sense of "turncoat" is from 1660s. The form renegate, directly from Medieval Latin, is attested in English from late 14c. As an adjective from 1705.