'apostate-like' originates from English, specifically from the combination of the noun 'apostate' and the suffix '-like', where 'apostate' meant 'one who abandons a religious or political belief' and the suffix '-like' meant 'having the nature or appearance of'.

'apostate' entered English via Late Latin 'apostata' (from Greek 'ἀποστάτης' /apostátēs/), and the adjective-forming and comparison suffix '-like' comes from Old English '-līc' (related to modern 'ly'/'like'); these elements combined in modern English to form compounds such as 'apostate-like'.

Initially, 'apostate' denoted 'one who has stood away' or 'defected'; over time it stabilized to mean 'a person who renounces a previously held belief', and the compound 'apostate-like' developed to describe resemblance to such a person rather than naming one directly.