flee

verb

ˈflē How to pronounce flee (audio)
Definition of fleenext
1
as in to disappear
to cease to be visible the fog fled with the arrival of the dawn

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation a murderer who fled on foot

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to retreat
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening a toddler who fled when the ladybug he had been quietly watching suddenly began flying around the room

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of flee Today, Los Angeles struggles as productions flee to places including New Jersey, Georgia, London and Albuquerque, which are taking their turns as urban shape-shifters. — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Others fled war and violence, or sought refuge in Spain because of their gender or sexuality. — ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026 The driver of one car got out, opened fire on the victims and fled, according to charging documents cited by affiliate FOX 9 Minneapolis. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 Background Sanabria fled Cuba and came to South Florida at 11 with his family. — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for flee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flee
  1. disappear
  2. escape
  3. retreat
  4. vanish
  5. fly
  6. fade
  7. bolt
  8. run
Verb
  • Daily housekeeping hasn’t disappeared, but travelers can no longer assume every property follows the same schedule.
    — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
  • What concerns me is how quickly those everyday conveniences can disappear when something goes wrong with a retailer's technology.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappear
Verb
  • As the comet rotates, fresh ice enters the sunlight and sublimates; the escaping gas then drags entrained dust particles away from the nucleus.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In July, two of OpenAI’s models escaped a testing environment and hacked the open-source AI platform Hugging Face.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of escape
Verb
  • Meanwhile, conservative activists spread rumors last week that Talarico was struggling with his mental health and had secretly retreated to an Ohio hospital.
    — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 15 Oct. 2026
  • While Chelsea tend to retreat after taking the lead, their opponents also become more aggressive in response, committing extra bodies forward and helping to create more open, end-to-end encounters.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of retreat
Verb
  • Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished during one of the final stretches of their trip after departing Lae, New Guinea, for Howland Island.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Built and expanded over centuries, Derinkuyu offered a haven for entire communities to vanish underground during times of war or religious persecution, sealing themselves in behind massive stone doors.
    — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of vanish
Verb
  • The film opens on a beach, with Selvi and her friends flying kites, before moving into domestic interiors where her world narrows.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The hurricane sent chairs flying and destroyed the restaurant’s canopy.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of fly
Verb
  • The film is set in Lucknow as the age of the nawabs (Muslim nobles) fades.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But that boom eventually faded, overwhelmed by larger forces including the rise of the regulatory state and increasingly generous government bailouts.
    — RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of fade
Verb
  • Following the win, Smart bolted straight for the visitors section, slinging his visor around in the air while the Georgia fans and Kirby's wife waited to embrace his family.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
  • And unlike its siblings, the subframe on the T40 is permanently welded to the main frame as opposed to being bolted on.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolt
Verb
  • Damn it, the string of excellent Survivor episodes where the votes and strategies kept changing as people ran around and politicked is now over.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Serhii Sternenko, who runs a foundation supplying drones to Ukrainian forces and previously served as an adviser to Ukraine's defense minister, also reported the Starlink speed limits and later said the speeds were being limited even further.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of run

Browse Nearby Words

fledglings
flee
fleece
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flee. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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