DEFECTION

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility

Example:

his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless

Synonyms:

abandonment; defection; desertion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("defection" is a kind of...):

withdrawal (the act of withdrawing)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defection"):

abscondment; decampment (the act of running away secretly (as to avoid arrest))

deviationism (ideological defection from the party line (especially from orthodox communism))

Derivation:

defect (desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army)

Meaning:

The state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes)

Synonyms:

apostasy; defection; renunciation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("defection" is a kind of...):

rejection (the state of being rejected)

Derivation:

defect (desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army)