Desertion, n.
Etymology: [L. desertio: cf. F. désertion.]
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.
2. The state of being forsaken; desolation; as, the king in his desertion.
3. Abandonment by God; spiritual despondency. The spiritual agonies of a soul under desertion. South.
Shades of meaning
Fernald lists desertion only as an antonym, under defense.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.
Synonyms
none given