Adjacent Words

Apostate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APOS'TATE, n. [Gr.]
One who has forsaken the church, sect or profession to which he before adhered. In its original sense, applied to one who has abandoned his religion; but correctly applied also to one who abandons a political or other party.
APOS'TATE, a. False; traitorous.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not faithful to religion or party or cause n
1: a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. [syn: deserter, apostate, renegade, turncoat, recreant, ratter]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century one who commits apostasy • apostate adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. a person who renounces a former belief, adherence, etc. --adj. engaged in apostasy. Derivatives: apostatical adj. Etymology: ME f. OF apostate or eccl.L apostata f. Gk apostates deserter (as APOSTASY)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Apostate A*pos"tate, n. [L. apostata, Gr. ?, fr. ?. See Apostasy.] 1. One who has forsaken the faith, principles, or party, to which he before adhered; esp., one who has forsaken his religion for another; a pervert; a renegade. 2. (R. C. Ch.) One who, after having received sacred orders, renounces his clerical profession.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Apostate A*pos"tate, a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, apostasy; faithless to moral allegiance; renegade. So spake the apostate angel. --Milton. A wretched and apostate state. --Steele.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Apostate A*pos"tate, v. i. [L. apostatare.] To apostatize. [Obs.] We are not of them which apostate from Christ. --Bp. Hall.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(apostates) An apostate is someone who has abandoned their religious faith, political loyalties, or principles. (FORMAL) = renegade, defector N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Renegade, backslider, deserter, turncoat, pervert. II. a. Treacherous, perfidious, traitorous, disloyal, false, faithless, untrue, recreant, backsliding.

Moby Thesaurus

Sabbath-breaker, atheist, atheistic, backslider, backsliding, blasphemer, blasphemous, bolter, collaborationist, collaborative, collaborator, convert, defector, degenerate, demurrer, deserter, disloyal, dissenter, dissentient, dissident, faithless, fallen, fallen from grace, fifth columnist, impious, irreligious, irreverent, lapsed, mugwump, nonconformist, objector, opinionist, opposition voice, profanatory, profane, proselyte, protestant, protester, quisling, rat, recidivist, recidivistic, recreant, recusant, renegade, renegado, renegate, reversionist, runagate, sacrilegious, sacrilegist, schismatic, seceder, secessionist, sectarian, sectary, separatist, strikebreaker, tergiversant, tergiversating, tergiversator, traitor, traitorous, treasonable, treasonous, turnabout, turncoat, turntail, unbeliever, undutiful