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

It comes one month after councillor Daniel Jellyman, the Conservative group leader on Stoke-on-Trent City Council, also defected to Reform UK and became the party's leader on the local authority.

From BBC

Two Labour councillors have defected to the Green Party, following in the footsteps of a colleague days earlier.

From BBC

In August last year a North Korean soldier defected to the South by crossing the MDL.

From Barron's

Though hundreds of National Guard soldiers and police officers defected, the effort failed because high-ranking army officers commanding essential units didn’t.

From The Wall Street Journal

A former Conservative MP who defected to Reform UK has explained his reasons for doing so but stopped short of apologising to his constituents.

From BBC

Related Words

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