"deserting" in the verb sense
1. abandon, forsake, desolate, desert
leave someone who needs or counts on you leave in the lurch
"The mother deserted her children"
2. defect, desert
desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army
"If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot"
3. desert
leave behind
"the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
Princeton University "About WordNet®."
WordNet®. Princeton University. 2010.
View WordNet® License