Desert and pursue point in opposite directions. To desert is to flee — to slip away from a post or duty you were bound to, in secret and in betrayal (desert your post). To pursue is to go after something — to chase it openly, with sustained effort (pursue a goal, pursue a suspect). One breaks away and runs from; the other drives forward and runs toward.
These two are opposite kinds of motion. Desert, from Latin deserere ('to un-join'), is flight — you steal away from the thing, breaking the bond that held you. Pursue, from Latin prosequi ('to follow after'), is the reverse: you go after the thing, closing on it. Where desert slips backward into the dark, pursue drives forward into the open. Desert runs from; pursue runs toward.
desert
To desert someone or something is to leave a post or bond you were duty-bound to keep — and the doing of it is a betrayal. It comes from Latin deserere, 'to un-join' (de- plus serere, 'to link'), so the word breaks a tie that was holding. Soldiers desert their posts, a parent deserts a family, supporters desert a failing cause. Where to abandon can be neutral and to forsake is sorrowful, desert carries blame: there was a duty with a claim on you, and you slipped out from under it.
pursue
To pursue something is to go after it — to chase a person, a goal, or a line of thought with sustained effort. It comes through Old French from Latin prosequi, 'to follow after', and that following is the heart of it: a pursuit is all forward motion, the gap between you and the thing still open. You pursue a career, a degree, a suspect, an interest. Where to achieve is to reach the goal at last, and to abandon is to turn away from it, pursue is the chase still underway.
| desert | pursue | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to flee a post or duty, in betrayal | to go after something with effort |
| Direction | away from — runs from | toward — runs after |
| Manner | secret, breaking a bond | open, driving forward |
| Often with | desert your post, the army, a cause | pursue a goal, a career, a suspect, an interest |
| Motion | slips backward out of the camp | drives forward into the open |
| Example | The sentry deserted under cover of night. | The officers pursued the suspect on foot. |
They are opposite motions — run from or run toward. Desert is the sentry slipping backward through the wire, away from the post he was meant to hold (desert your post). Pursue is the runner driving forward after a light that keeps its lead (pursue a goal, pursue a suspect). If you flee the thing in secret, you desert it; if you go after it in the open, you pursue it.
desert
- iHe deserted his regiment and was never found.
- iiHalf the volunteers deserted once the work got hard.
- iiiShe would never desert a cause she believed in.
pursue
- iDetectives pursued every lead in the case.
- iiHe left a safe job to pursue a riskier dream.
- iiiThey pursued the runaway across two counties.
They are opposites of direction: desert turns and flees a duty, while pursue turns and chases a goal. The same scene can hold both — a deserter flees while those left behind pursue him: one running from the bond, the others running after the man.