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  1. apostate love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. One who has abandoned one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. One who is guilty of apostasy; one who has forsaken the church, sect, party, profession, or opinion to which he before adhered (used in reproach); a renegade; a pervert.
  2. n. In the Roman Catholic Church, one who, without obtaining a formal dispensation, forsakes a religious order of which he has made profession. Synonyms Neophyte, Convert, Proselyte, etc. See convert, and list under renegade.
  3. Unfaithful to religious creed, or to moral or political principle; traitorous to allegiance; false; renegade: as, “the apostate lords,” Macaulay, Hist. Eng., i.
  4. To apostatize.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Guilty of apostasy.
  2. n. A person who has renounced a religion or faith.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. 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. n. (R. C. Ch.) One who, after having received sacred orders, renounces his clerical profession.
  3. adj. Pertaining to, or characterized by, apostasy; faithless to moral allegiance; renegade.
  4. v. obsolete To apostatize.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adj. not faithful to religion or party or cause
  2. n. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.

Etymologies

  1. From Late Latin apostata, from Ancient Greek ἀποστασία (apostasia, "defection, revolt"), from ἀφίστημι (aphistēmi, "I withdraw, revolt"), from ἀπό (apo, "from") + ἵστημι (histēmi, "I stand") (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin apostata, from Greek apostatēs, from aphistanai, to revolt; see apostasy. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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synonyms (5)

Words with the same meaning

  1. pervert
  1. renegade
  1. apostatize
  1. recreant
  1. deconvert

equivalents (1)

Other words for ‘apostate’

  1. unfaithful

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. quitter

same context (16)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. heretic
  2. adulterer
  3. Franciscan
  1. blasphemer
  2. deist
  3. unfrocked
  1. unbeliever
  2. blasphemers
  3. white-robed
  1. prelacy
  2. schismatic
  3. evildoer
  1. infidel
  2. poltroon
  3. renegade
  1. popish

reverse dictionary (15)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. apostatic
  2. magarita
  3. proto-apostate
  1. renegate
  2. Julian
  3. apostatical
  1. fratricelli
  2. arch-apostate
  3. recreant
  1. renegade
  2. runagate
  3. transfuge
  1. turncoat
  2. apostate
  3. neophyte

tags (2)

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  1. greek origin
  1. ppwp_shouldknow

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Lists

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Comments

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  • qroqqa I was interested to learn in John Wells's phonetic blog of 1 July 2008 that the traditional pronunciation of this is stressed on the /pɒ/. He says dictionaries only give /əˈpɒsteɪt/, though actually the OED (2nd ed.) gives only /əˈpɒstət/ with weak final syllable. I have always thought of it the way the BBC said it, viz /ˈæpəsteɪt/, though of course I've presumably never actually heard it or had occasion to say it. Jul 3, 2008

  • kewpid It seems like every bloody article mentioning John McCain describes him as an “apostate�?. Feb 10, 2008

  • seanahan David Eddings uses this word to describe a character in the Belgariad. Jul 2, 2007

  • slumry Only at the apostake. Jul 2, 2007

  • uselessness We found an apostate, may we burn her? Jul 2, 2007

  • slumry Or they may apply it to themselves ironically, acknowledging that *they* consider *me* an apostate. Jul 2, 2007

  • addendumb Very few former believers call themselves apostates and they generally consider this term to be a pejorative. Jul 2, 2007

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‘apostate’ has been looked up 3095 times, loved by 7 people, added to 80 lists, commented on 7 times, and has a Scrabble score of 10.