defector

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /dɪˈfɛktɚ/ UK /dɪˈfɛktə/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a person who abandons a country, cause, or party for an opposing one

The defector revealed sensitive military secrets to the rival government.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who abandons a... deserter turncoat renegade traitor apostate rebel

Opposites

loyalist patriot

Word family

Related forms defect defection defective

Etymology

From Latin defector ('rebel, deserter'), an agent noun from deficere ('to fail, desert'), from de- ('down, away') + facere ('to do, make').

defector Latin deficere Latin facere Latin

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Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# defector

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** dɪˈfɛktɚ
**IPA (UK):** dɪˈfɛktə

## Meanings
1. a person who abandons a country, cause, or party for an opposing one

## Examples
- The defector revealed sensitive military secrets to the rival government.

## Synonyms
- deserter
- turncoat
- renegade
- traitor
- apostate
- rebel

## Antonyms
- loyalist
- patriot

## Related Forms
- defect
- defection
- defective

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: defector
- Root: deficere
- Root: facere

## Etymology
From Latin defector ('rebel, deserter'), an agent noun from deficere ('to fail, desert'), from de- ('down, away') + facere ('to do, make').

## AI Etymology
Defector is from Latin defector ('rebel, deserter'), an agent noun from deficere ('to fail, desert'), from de- ('down, away') + facere ('to do, make'). Important recorded forms include defector (Latin), deficere (Latin), and facere (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers a person who abandons a country, cause, or party for an opposing one. The wider family includes related words such as defect, defection, and defective.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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defector

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