Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One who traitorously switches allegiance.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who “turns his coat”—that is, forsakes his party or principles.
Wiktionary
- n. A traitor; one who turns against a previous affiliation or allegiance.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who forsakes his party or his principles; a renegade; an apostate; a defector to the enemy.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
Etymologies
- From turn + coat. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The very thing Specter sought to avoid by becoming a turncoat is now coming to pass.”
“Does anyone know why this turncoat is still allowed to live in Washington D.C. He did nothing to help Al Gore 8 years ago and he only here to play get back to the democrats.”
“Hobbesian philosophy seemed to have been on target, since offering Indian indigenous leaders the reward and opportunity to engage in turncoat behavior toward their own people managed indeed to establish collaborative efforts with British colonialists.”
“You will be known as a turncoat who supported York.”
“In Worldwar II, they called turncoat by a different name and the punishment wasn't very nice.”
“The Wales ace has become a firm favourite with Swans supporters since arriving at the Liberty - but it's left him being labelled a turncoat by Cardiff fans.”
“Gotti shocked observers on Thursday by launching into a furious tirade against ex-pal John Alite, calling the turncoat mobster a "fag," a "punk" and a "dog" after Alite, on his way out of the courtroom, turned to Gotti and said: "You got something to say to me?”
“I tried calling turncoat Snowe and it was disconnected.”
“The "turncoat" was an informer named Dickenson, from”
“In his private diary, Mr. Reagan noted that the magazine labeled him a "turncoat" and said conservative activist Richard Viguerie sent him a copy of the magazine along with a letter.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘turncoat’.
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Bad Options
words for those who commit particular crimes: i.e., bank robber, arsonist, etc.
liar, cheat, traitor, arsonist, felon, braggard, thief, profiteer, impostor, phony, fraud, culprit and 212 more...
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Collected Words - List 2
I've been saving these words FOR YEARS. Now, I've found Wordie
gasconade, zaccheus, spoor, precentor, bombazine, otiose, khamsin, bruited, viva voce, whilom, lenitive, ebullition and 244 more...
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Unsavory characters
absconder, aretaloger, arriviste, avaunter, bamboozler, bandit, banger, barbarian, barmecide, barrator, beldam, blatherskite and 190 more...
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WF - nominal compounds (figurative)
An extensive list I have been working on for quite some time. Feel free to add more of the kind if you miss any.
brainstorming, upside, downside, goldplating, bikeshedding, mudslinging, downgrading, headhunter, streamlining, mainstreaming, gerrymandering, frontloading and 503 more...
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Killjoy et al
Namely, compounds consisting of a verb with a direct object immediately after it, without inflection
killjoy, lickspigot, quakebuttock, throttlebottom, scattergood, scapegrace, swillbowl, tosspot, breakfast, cutthroat, pickpocket, dreadnought and 84 more...
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Rexicon
brazen, insipid, cuss, penchant, salacious, titillate, lurid, schlemiel, interlope, masquerade, supercilious, action-taking and 51 more...
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September Words-11849
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
psilocybin, raca, schema, myriad, copacetic, chastise, fractal, tourniquet, turncoat, vicarious, surreptitiously, clandestine and 34 more...
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wakcy's Words
apocalypse, interlude, drome, absolution, atrocity, ruse, pristine, mason, reparable, deteriorate, pyramid, hipster and 283 more...
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inkhorn's Words
inkhorn, aplomb, apotheosis, asinine, avatar, bombastic, boorish, bromide, bucolic, cagey, canvass, digress and 991 more...
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Agentive Exocentric [V+N]N Compounds
Agentive and Instrumental Exocentric Verb-Noun Compounds that are still found in Modern English to some degree.
breakwater, sellsword, breakfast, scarecrow, cutthroat, pickpocket, turncoat, killjoy
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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favorite words
sawbones, grackle, celadon, brio, loam, trull, mint, saliva, serape, frisson, impasto, reek and 547 more...
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fearraigh's Words
heretofore, seldom, cunt, calamity, overhead, phalanx, flunky, factotum, terrestrial, dormant, afflatus, periphery and 156 more...
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Sat Vocabulary List
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 2155 more...
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Words of the Day
glabella, chirotony, nook-shotten, crapehanger, filemot, swirlie, egosurf, lexiphanicism, Ruritanian, stichometry, chrononaut, faldstool and 2050 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 866 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for turncoat.
mkluver1 I've used this word many of times referring to my ex-best friend Oct 1, 2010