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escape

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of escape

1 the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement

  • a daring prison escape
Synonyms of escape

break, breakout, bunk [British], flight, getaway, lam, rout, slip
Words Related to escape

jailbreak

deliverance, liberation, redemption, release, rescue, salvation

close call, close shave, near miss
Near Antonyms of escape

captivity, confinement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment

custody, detention, hold, holding, retention

endangerment, hazard, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble

2 the act or a means of getting or keeping away from something undesirable

  • the reading of science fiction novels as an escape from boring reality
Synonyms of escape

avoidance, cop-out, dodging, ducking, eluding, elusion, eschewal, eschewing, evasion, out, shaking, shunning
Words Related to escape

bypassing, circumvention, runaround, sidestepping, skirting

averting, deflection, obviation, precluding, prevention
Near Antonyms of escape

abidance, endurance, submission, toleration

escape

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of escape

1 to get free from a dangerous or confining situation

  • everyone managed to escape from the burning building in time
Synonyms of escape

abscond, break out (of), clear out, flee, fly, get out, lam, run away, run off
Words Related to escape

avoid, elude, evade, lose, shun

decamp, depart, elope, exit, go, leave, move, pull out, quit, sally (forth), shove (off), take off, walk out

disentangle, extricate

bring off, emancipate, enfranchise, free, liberate, loose, loosen, manumit, redeem, release, rescue, spring, unbind, uncage, unchain, unfetter
Phrases Synonymous with escape

break free
Near Antonyms of escape

abide, dwell, hang around, linger, remain, stay, stick around, tarry

come back, return

2 to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery

  • a judge who is very determined not to let criminals escape punishment
Synonyms of escape

avoid, dodge, duck, elude, eschew, evade, finesse, get around, scape, shake, shirk, shuffle (out of), shun, weasel (out of)
Words Related to escape

miss

avert, deflect, divert, obviate, parry, prevent, ward (off)

ban, bar, debar, eliminate, except, exclude, preclude, rule out

bypass, circumvent, skirt

foil, fox, frustrate, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach, thwart
Phrases Synonymous with escape

fight shy of, keep clear of, stay clear of, steer clear of
Near Antonyms of escape

accept, court, embrace, pursue, seek, welcome

catch, contract, incur

Synonym Discussion of escape

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

Learn More about escape

  1. See words that rhyme with escape Dictionary: Definition of escape Medical Dictionary: Definition of escape Spanish Central: Translation of escape Nglish: Translation of escape for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of escape for Arabic speakers

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