deserter
27
5.8
- noun
- /dɪˈzɜrtər/
:
desertor
- The soldier was labeled a deserter after leaving his post without permission.
- draft deserters
As such, they could intercept deserters, informants, enemy scouts and troops.
- As such, they could intercept deserters, informants, enemy scouts and troops.
- But I remember in Northern Ireland, I took over the absentees and deserters file there, which is like that thick man.
Examples
-
He was shot as a deserter by a firing squad.
-
The leading citizens are gathering there as the two captured deserters are brought in.
Fiction book (1993) -
Is he a deserter or one of us?
-
But I am not a deserter.
-
I think he must be a deserter.
-
No, gentlemen, you need more proof than the word of a deserter.
-
You have no discharge, so you are a deserter.
-
The number of deserters was particularly high from construction and railway units.
Academic text (1995) -
A government spokesman announced that Fonseka and a band of army deserters were planning a coup.
Academic text (2011) -
We've caught a deserter.
Synonyms
43
7.6
A person who leaves their country or group to join an opposing side
Antonyms
How Loyal
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Deserter comes from the old Latin verb deserere, built from de- 'away' and a root meaning 'join', so it originally meant 'leave what you were joined to'. So a deserter is someone who goes away from their duty, especially a soldier who leaves his post without permission.