as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
the plot of the story revolved around the gangster's relentless determination to learn the identity of the turncoat
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Recent Examples of turncoat
This is less a chant and more a fireworks show celebrating the permanent expungement of all turncoats and pests.
—
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Stephen Kearse, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
From the rioters who breached the Capitol building to the lawmakers trapped inside, from Trump-world turncoats, to the now president-elect himself, many who joined or were caught up in the riot are still living with fallout from the January 6 of four years ago.
—Savannah Kuchar, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2025
Yikes, the generative AI has somehow gone turncoat.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
Others to Watch: Marc Andreessen: A vc worth $1.9 billion, Andreessen made waves as an ex-Democrat donating to pro-Trump groups—among the first key Silicon Valley turncoats—and went to Mar-A-Lago on election night.
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for turncoat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for turncoat
traitor
Noun
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In an effort to figure out who the traitor on his team is, Ethan Hunt needs the NOC list, which contains the identities of every American spy.—
Mike Ryan,
IndieWire,
27 May 2025
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The Confederacy — traitors — were fighting to keep my ancestors enslaved.—
Hashim Coates,
Denver Post,
5 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Turncoat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/turncoat. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
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