01 n. The act of deserting or forsaking; abandonment of a service, a cause, a party, a friend, or any post of duty; the quitting of one's duties …
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1.
The act of deserting or forsaking; abandonment of a service, a cause, a party, a friend, or any post of duty; the quitting of one's duties willfully and without right; esp., an absconding from military or naval service.“Such a resignation would have seemed to his superior a desertion or a reproach.” — Bancroft.
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2.
The state of being forsaken; desolation; as, the king in his desertion.
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3.
Abandonment by God; spiritual despondency.“The spiritual agonies of a soul under desertion.” — South.