What does "apostatize" mean?

To give up or renounce one's position or belief.

What is a synonym for "apostatize"?

Common synonyms include: apostacize, apostasize, apostatise, betray, bolt, break away.

verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Verb

1
To give up or renounce one's position or belief.
"Soft enticements of domestic life too often draw him from the ascetic trail; a monk who apostatizes to the world at times."
2
abandon one's beliefs or allegiances wordnet

"Soft enticements of domestic life too often draw him from the ascetic trail; a monk who apostatizes to the world at times."

From apostate + -ize.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.