What does deserter mean?
Deserter is a noun denoting a person who abandons a duty, post, or allegiance — most commonly a soldier who leaves the armed forces without permission and no intention of returning. The word derives from the verb 'to desert', meaning to forsake or abandon, which entered English via Old French from Latin. Its use is strongly disapproving: to call someone a deserter implies cowardice, betrayal, or a failure of loyalty at a moment when commitment mattered. In military law, desertion is a serious offence historically punishable by imprisonment or even death, which lends the term considerable gravity. Beyond the battlefield, the word is applied figuratively to anyone who quits a cause, group, or responsibility when others are counting on them — a politician who abandons their party, or a colleague who walks out before a crucial deadline. Synonyms such as defector and turncoat overlap, though defector often carries political overtones while turncoat stresses treachery.
nounA person who abandons their duty or post, especially a soldier who leaves military service without permission and with no intention of returning.
- A person who deserts — abandons a post, duty, or allegiance — especially a member of the armed forces who leaves without permission and no intention of returning.
- By extension, anyone who abandons a group, cause, or responsibility at a critical moment (e.g. 'a deserter of his friends in their hour of need').
"The general ordered that the deserter be court-martialed for abandoning his unit on the eve of battle."
"During the war, thousands of young men became deserters rather than face the front lines."
"He called his business partner a deserter for quitting just before the company's make-or-break launch."
Regular plural formation; commonly used when discussing groups who abandoned service en masse, as in 'wartime deserters'.
"After the armistice, many deserters returned home hoping for amnesty."
In the First World War, over three hundred British soldiers were executed for desertion — a stain so troubling that Britain formally pardoned them all in 2006.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deserter
Deserter comes from the verb 'desert', meaning to abandon or forsake, which entered English in the late Middle Ages from Old French 'deserter', ultimately from Latin 'desertare' ('to abandon'), formed on 'deserere' — from 'de-' (undoing) plus 'serere' ('to join or bind together'). The agent-noun form 'deserter', meaning one who deserts, is attested from around the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century. Cognates sharing this Latin root include 'desertion' and the verb 'desert' itself.
Related word forms
How deserter is actually used
The word carries strong negative connotations of betrayal and cowardice, particularly in military contexts where desertion is a punishable offence. In civilian use it is more figurative but still disapproving. It is a formal or neutral-register word, not slang.
Easily confused with deserter
Dessert is the sweet course of a meal, while deserter is someone who abandons duty; they differ by a single 's' in spelling.