defected
Saydi-FEK-tid/dɪˈfɛktɪd/
- 1Simple past and past participle of defect.
The diplomat defected while attending a conference abroad.
Several scientists had defected by the time the program was shut down.
Note
Because the verb behind it is intransitive, the participle pairs with have rather than be: a soldier has defected, but nobody is defected. Typically one defected from an army, a party or a country. The noun defect, meaning a fault or a shortfall, never takes this ending, so defected always points to shifted loyalty or flight and never to something damaged.
defected is a form of defect
defect, verb: To abandon a group such as a political party or military force, switching one's loyalty to the opposing side. Full entry
- Spelling
- defect → defected: add -ed
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