de·fect

(dē′fĕkt′, dĭ-fĕkt′)

An imperfection or lack that causes inadequacy or failure; a shortcoming or deficiency. See Synonyms at blemish.

intr.v. (dĭ-fĕkt′) de·fect·ed, de·fect·ing, de·fects

1. To disown allegiance to one's country and take up residence in another: a Soviet citizen who defected to Israel.

2. To abandon a position or association, often to join an opposing group: defected from the party over the issue of free trade.

[Middle English, from Latin dēfectus, failure, want, from past participle of dēficere, to desert, be wanting : dē-, de- + facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]

de·fec′tion n.

de·fec′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

de•fec•tor

(dɪˈfɛk tər)

n.

a person who defects from a cause or country.

[1655–65; < Latin dēfector renegade, rebel, derivative of dēficere to become disaffected, revolt, literally, to fail; see deficient]

defector

A person who repudiates his or her country when beyond its jurisdiction or control.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

defector - a person who abandons their duty (as on a military post)

deserter

armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"

offender, wrongdoer - a person who transgresses moral or civil law

deviationist - an ideological defector from the party line (especially from orthodox communism)

draft dodger, draft evader - someone who is drafted and illegally refuses to serve

renegade - someone who rebels and becomes an outlaw

walk-in - an operative who initiates his own defection (usually to a hostile country) for political asylum

defector

noun deserter, renegade, turncoat, apostate, recreant (archaic), runagate (archaic), tergiversator Turkey granted asylum to defectors from Communist countries.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

defector

noun

A person who has defected:

apostate, deserter, recreant, renegade, runagate, tergiversator, turncoat.

Informal: rat.

Translations

αυτόμολος

transfuge

disertore

defector

[dɪˈfektəʳ] N (to different country) → desertor(a) m/f; (to different party) → tránsfuga mf

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

defector

[dɪˈfɛktə^r] n (to another party) → transfuge mf; (to another country) → transfuge mf

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

defector

[dɪˈfɛktəʳ] n → fuor(i)uscito/a; (political) → rifugiato/a politico/a

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

"[There is a North Korean hacking] group [that] mainly targets [the] North Korean defector community we are aware that [this group] tried to hack a Hana centre last year," he said.

Hackers steal North Korea defectors' data

Han Ok-joung, a North Korean defector and a singer, recently revealed her story as the mother of a 20-year-old daughter who was born in China Han was 21 years old when she left North Korea in 1998.

NK defector sings songs of hope for daughter

The defector referred to the repatriation of 22 North Koreans to the North in 2008 during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun, for which Moon was chief of staff.

Defectors' anxiety grows as relations thaw between North and South Korea

But he persevered, eliminating his original tones by repeating radio broadcasts, earning a degree in his spare time, and following up with a PhD in unification studies -- the first such doctorate ever earned by a North Korean defector.

North Korea refugees find new pressures in South

Summary: TEHRAN (FNA)- South Korea's military unleashed around 20 warning shots in the direction of North Korean border guards in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) who were pursued a defector.

South Korea Fires 20 Warning Shots at North Korean Border Guards Searching for Defector

'I had unwanted attention from South Koreans because I was a defector. It's my choice to defect from North Korea.

North Korean defectors meet with Pinoy students in Quezon City

In contrast, the Rhodesian counterinsurgents learned the costs of using defector units, such as the Selous Scouts, for operations that played only to their tactical strengths.

Insurgent Defectors in Counterinsurgencies

Ryu, Shin .("The Bridge of PoeticImagination Connecting the Daedong River and the Han River: The Poetic World of Seungmin Kim, the first North Korean Defector Poet") (Practicing Literature) 83 (2006): 459-83.

The Korean War, Memory, and Nostalgia

It would seem unlikely that newborn twins hidden from the Nazis when their village was destroyed could play a key role in future events; but such is the case in Defector in Our Midst, which points out the lasting legacy of violence.

Defector in Our Midst

So the panel has been interviewing those who say they have been there -- members of the roughly 25,000-person North Korean defector community in South Korea.

Inquiry pressures North Korea; Chilling accounts of systematic rape, murder and torture