deserter

noun

de·sert·er di-ˈzər-tər

plural deserters

Synonyms of deserter next

: a person who deserts

… the deserter of his father in his last days, betrayer of his brother in his captivity …—

Amy Kelly

especially : a member of a military force who abandons service without leave

a wartime deserter

But now that Anderson has been AWOL for more than 30 days, he is known in the U.S. military as a deserter, facing the possibility of years in jail. —

Daniel Eisenberg

At a prison camp for German army deserters, Herold ordered the execution of more than 100 soldiers. —

Michael Phillips

Examples of deserter in a Sentence

we had orders to find and capture the deserters before they could reveal our location

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Knight, a Mississippi farmer and Confederate deserter, led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the American Civil War. —

Travis Bean, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024 Because of the security risks faced by Russian deserters, pseudonyms are used throughout. —

Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024 Al Shabaab has issued a fatwa calling for the murder of any deserters, and a number of them have been shot and killed in the Majengo slum. —

Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Foreign Affairs, 10 Jan. 2013 Blauvelt, who worked as a U.S. Army recruiter in Greenville County at the time of the killing, was classified as a deserter shortly after, according to the U.S. Marshals. —

Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deserter