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Definition of "apostate" []

  • One who has abandoned one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "apostate" in a sentence
  • "In its message of violent global jihad, al-Qaida rails against U.S. support of Israel and what it calls apostate regimes in the Middle East."
  • "The early Reformers probably realized this but they felt the necessity of building up some sort of a Church which could bind together its members into a corporate body professing unity of belief and worship, and which, in contrast with the pope's Church, which they called apostate, could be called the true Church of God."
  • "The group urged Somali parents to let children learn how to handle weapons and fight what it calls the apostate government."