refugee

ref·u·gee

noun \ˌre-fyu̇-ˈjē, ˈre-fyu̇-ˌ\

Definition of REFUGEE

: one that flees; especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution

— ref·u·gee·ism \-ˌi-zəm\ noun

Examples of REFUGEE

1. Thousands of refugees have fled the area.
2. <refugees began returning to their homeland after years of political unrest and war>

Origin of REFUGEE

French réfugié, past participle of (se) réfugier to take refuge, from Middle French refugier, from Latin refugium

First Known Use: 1685

Related to REFUGEE

Synonyms

deportee, evacuee, exile, expat [chiefly British], expatriate, émigré

Related Words

alien, fugitive; castoff, outcast, pariah; loyalist, patriot

Rhymes with REFUGEE

abatis, ABC, ABD, abductee, absentee, acquiree, addressee, adoptee, advisee, alienee, allottee, amputee, apogee, appellee, appointee, appraisee, après-ski, arrestee, assignee, attendee, auditee, awardee, axletree, BVD, Baha'i, bain-marie, barley-bree, batterie, billi-bi, boiserie, bonhomie, booboisie, bourgeoisie, brasserie, brusquerie, bumblebee, camphor tree, camporee, cap-a-pie, causerie, Chamonix, Cherokee, chickadee, chickaree, chimpanzee, China Sea, Christmas tree, chroma-key, coati, Coligny, conferee, consignee, cop a plea, Coral Sea, counselee, context-free, counterplea, cruelty-free, Danaë, DDT, debauchee, Debussy, departee, deportee, dernier cri, designee, detainee, devisee, devotee, diploe, disagree, dischargee, divorcé, divorcée, DME, dungaree, duty-free, eau-de-vie, employee, endorsee, enlistee, enrollee, enshrinee, epopee, escadrille, escapee, ESP, evictee, expellee, family tree, fancy-free, fantasy, fedayee, fever tree, filigree, fleur-de-lis, franchisee, fricassee, function key, galilee, Galilee, garnishee, gaucherie, Gemini, Greenland Sea, guarani, guarantee, Hawaii, HIV, Holy See, honeybee, honoree, housemaid's knee, humble-bee, inductee, Inland Sea, internee, invitee, Irish Sea, IUD, jacquerie, jamboree, Java Sea, Joshua tree, jubilee, Judas tree, jumper's knee, jus soli, Kayseri, kedgeree, kidnappee, killer bee, LCD, LED, legatee, libelee, licensee, LSD, maître d', Malay Sea, manatee, master key, Mormon tea, mortgagee, murderee, NBC, nominee, obligee, oversea, oversee, Park Chung Hee, parolee, parti pris, pass degree, patentee, pedigree, peppertree, perigee, permittee, pharisee, picotee, piroshki, point d'appui, potpourri, praecipe, presentee, promisee, public-key, rapparee, referee, rejectee, renminbi, repartee, retiree, returnee, RPV, rubber tree, saddletree, Sadducee, sangaree, Savaii, selectee, Semele, shivaree, slotting fee, snickersnee, spelling bee, spindle tree, SST, STD, Tappan Zee, Tenebrae, Tennessee, third degree, thirty-three, TNT, to a tee, toile de Jouy, torii, transferee, tulip tree, undersea, user fee, vaccinee, value-free, varnish tree, verdigris, VIP, vis-à-vis, wannabe, warrantee, Wounded Knee

refugee

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Person involuntarily displaced from his or her homeland. Until the late 19th century and the emergence of fixed and closed national boundaries, refugees were always absorbed by neighbouring countries. Later, immigration restrictions and increasing numbers of refugees necessitated special action to aid them. In 1921 Fridtjof Nansen created a League of Nations Passport to allow refugees to move freely across national boundaries. Refugee status at that time was accorded only if the migrant's departure was involuntary and asylum was sought in another country. In 1938 the definition of refugee was expanded to include persons with a well-founded fear of persecution because of ethnicity, religion, nationality, group membership, or political opinion. Later the definition was expanded again to include persons who have fled from their homes to other places in their own countries. Refugee status ceases to apply when the migrant either is resettled or returns home. At the beginning of the 21st century there were some 16 million refugees, including nearly 4 million Palestinians; much of the rest of the world's refugees were in Asia (particularly Afghanistan) and Africa, though conflict in the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere in post-Cold War Europe significantly increased the number of refugees in those regions. See also International Refugee Organization; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.