From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdesertionde‧ser‧tion /dɪˈzɜːʃən $ -ɜːr-/ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]PMA the act of leaving the army, navy etc without permission2 [uncountable]SCLSCLLEAVE A RELATIONSHIP law the act of leaving your wife or husband because you do not want to live with them any longer
Examples from the Corpus
desertion• Her right to maintenance was not lost by desertion.• Apart from desertion the other force which continually sapped and depleted the strength of every navy was disease.• His desertion of her, his long forgetfulness, could not be forgiven in a moment because of his need.• Although the wife was in desertion, nevertheless it must be remembered that desertion is never irrevocable.• A silence of desertion was in the front.• The longer we wait, the more likely we are to fear lack of interest or desertion.• All these changes led either to the desertion or substantial depopulation of settlements.• The desertion rate was the highest in the world.• Larsen was one of 42 Marines charged with desertion. 