Main Entry: ¹es·cape

Pronunciation: \is-ˈkāp, es-, dial iks-ˈkāp\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): es·caped; es·cap·ing

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak

Date: 13th century

intransitive verb 1 a : to get away (as by flight) <escaped from prison> b : to issue from confinement <gas is escaping> c of a plant : to run wild from cultivation
2 : to avoid a threatening evil <the boat sank but the crew escaped>transitive verb 1 : to get free of : break away from <escape the jungle> <escape the solar system>
2 : to get or stay out of the way of : avoid <efforts to escape poverty>
3 : to fail to be noticed or recallable by <his name escapes me>
4 a : to issue from <a smile escaped me> b : to be uttered involuntarily by <a sigh of relief escaped her>

— es·cap·er noun

synonyms escape, avoid, evade, elude, shun, eschew mean to get away or keep away from something. escape stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent <nothing escapes her sharp eyes>. avoid stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of danger or difficulty <try to avoid past errors>. evade implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding <evaded the question by changing the subject>. elude implies a slippery or baffling quality in the person or thing that escapes <what she sees in him eludes me>. shun often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policy and may imply repugnance or abhorrence <you have shunned your responsibilities>. eschew implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwise or distasteful <a playwright who eschews melodrama>.