1
as in disappears
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 escapes
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
a murderer who fled on foot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in retreats
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flees
Benedict’s offer is met with deafening silence, before Sophie flees his embrace in distress.
—
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2026
What else is going on A Maserati driver kills a man and a dog crossing a Sherman Oaks street, flees the scene and then abandons the car.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
An alien known only as Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders) flees his home planet and crash-lands in Hawaii, where he is adopted by a grieving young girl named Lilo (Daveigh Chase), who takes him for a dog and dubs him Stitch.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 27 Jan. 2026
Jimmy flees and Bundle chases him through the train.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
From there, the pressure ramps up, with glimpses of Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito in pursuit as the missing girl flees from danger.
—Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Continue reading … OCEAN ESCAPE – Sanctioned tanker flees US forces, now under Russian naval escort off Irish coast.
—FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.
—Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
As with most pursuits, the suspect flees for more than just the traffic charge and other, more serious offenses are in play.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2026
Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2026
What else is going on A Maserati driver kills a man and a dog crossing a Sherman Oaks street, flees the scene and then abandons the car.
—James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
An alien known only as Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders) flees his home planet and crash-lands in Hawaii, where he is adopted by a grieving young girl named Lilo (Daveigh Chase), who takes him for a dog and dubs him Stitch.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 27 Jan. 2026
Jimmy flees and Bundle chases him through the train.
—Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
From there, the pressure ramps up, with glimpses of Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito in pursuit as the missing girl flees from danger.
—Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
Continue reading … OCEAN ESCAPE – Sanctioned tanker flees US forces, now under Russian naval escort off Irish coast.
—FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026
At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.
—Erin Somers, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
As with most pursuits, the suspect flees for more than just the traffic charge and other, more serious offenses are in play.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flees
Verb
-
In Peacock’s All Her Fault, a nanny from a rough background (Sophia Lillis) disappears with her rich employers’ little boy.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Polar bears in Svalbard are getting fatter, even as sea ice disappears.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Unlike nitrogen, which easily escapes from soil into the air or groundwater, phosphorus sticks to soil particles.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
-
When air leaks through that shell, heated or cooled air escapes, and the HVAC system has to work harder to keep up.—
Brynn Cooksey,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Menopause retreats at properties with spas take that tension-melting vibe a step further.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Less well defined is the character of Miss Delavigne, although she’s wonderfully portrayed by Englert, who retreats into this mousy persona.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Set at the height of the Arab Spring in 2011, the play examines a Middle Eastern Studies department in London thrown into crisis when a young Syrian blogger vanishes without a trace.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Even worse, amid the endless barrage of newness, our tolerance for sitting with work that may surprise or challenge us, confound and move us, weakens—or vanishes entirely.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
One area that flies under the AI radar of most consumers is the processing of audio content.—
Karl Freund,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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No one confuses kilowatt-hours with productivity, yet no serious economy flies blind without tracking them.—
Noosheen Hashemi,
Time,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That relatively minor problem fades into the background when he’s suddenly called back to his hometown to raise an estranged teenage daughter (Hannah Elise Adolfsen Fjeldbraaten) who doesn’t want to know him.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
-
For most people, the effect is mild and fades as your body processes the caffeine.—
Brandi Jones,
Verywell Health,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That new gondola runs three miles from a burgeoning base area, called East Village, to Park Peak, at 9,350 feet.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Each drone runs the same swarm engine locally.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With that in mind, here are a few free agent options who could fit the Yankees if Bellinger bolts.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
The canine then bolts across the field and is immediately chased by one horse, with about five more joining in moments later.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flees. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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