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Finding Refuge
The re- in refuge means basically "back" or "backward" rather than "again;" thus, a refugee is someone who is "fleeing backward". Refuge tends to appear with certain other words: you generally "seek refuge", "take refuge", or "find refuge". Religion may be a refuge from the woes of your life; a beautiful park may be a refuge from the noise of the city; and your bedroom may be a refuge from the madness of your family.
Synonyms
Examples of refuge in a Sentence
Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
If 40% of the Venezuelan population decided to leave the country, that would translate to 10 million people seeking refuge in other nations.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Since more than 1 million people sought refuge in Europe in 2015 to 2016, the E.U. has been struggling to find a common and effective approach to managing migration and asylum, with wide divides between those countries that opened their doors and those that slammed them shut.
—Beatriz Ríos, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Even if surrounded by strong currents, the forest provides a calmer environment, a refuge for these species.
—Olivia Ferrari, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
Once the law takes effect on May 1, Florida will no longer be a refuge for people seeking abortions across the South.
—Katie Mogg, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
Steer clear of windows and avoid seeking refuge in large open areas such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, or auditoriums.
—Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2024
The six unlikely heroes reluctantly take on the task of bringing the only vaccine against the plague of idiots to a safe place, where Norway’s smartest minds have sought refuge.
—Annika Pham, Variety, 7 Apr. 2024
Most workers also ran to an underground shelter to seek refuge.
—Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Kristina Hook, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2023
Conservationists, refuge biologists and Pacific Foods, a local business, came up with an ambitious plan to remove the carp, truck them to nearby Burns, and process them into fertilizer.
—April Reese, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2016
Migratory birds will also be attracted to the hedges and trees, which will give them refuge on their journeys.
—Karen Lubeck, Town & Country, 8 Nov. 2022
For one, an evacuation was not necessarily a path to refuge in the United States, as many expected.
—Abigail Hauslohner, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
Targeted sanctions against the Kremlin and other state actors must be accompanied by support for those displaced by war, and the right to refuge must not be conditioned on one’s profession or degree of education.
—WIRED, 26 Aug. 2022
Cataño and Kammen say organizations like theirs are just Band-Aids that temporarily address the greater issue of lack of resources and access to refuge from heat.
—Rebecca Schneid, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022
As the assault on Ukraine stretches into its second month, here’s what to know about Lviv, the Ukrainian city that’s become a pillar of support and refuge for a country at war.
—Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2022
Amid the flight to refuge, Ukraine and Russia are set to resume peace talks online Friday after limited progress in Istanbul earlier in the week.
—Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'refuge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Refuge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refuge. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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