refugees

noun

plural of refugee
as in exiles
a person forced to emigrate for political reasons refugees began returning to their homeland after years of political unrest and war

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 refugees With no one to bring news from home, like many refugees, Reda has been keeping tabs on his property through satellite imagery. — Ava Bambuck, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026 Starring young Douae Butarbuch M’Zaouki alongside Sayyid El Alami (Messiah, A Gentleman in Moscow) and others, the film follows 11-year-old Chaya and her family, refugees in the Landes region of France. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026 Along the road, however, they are suddenly met with a trickle, and then a flood of refugees. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Members of that small group — refugees, people seeking asylum and victims of domestic abuse or trafficking — are now no longer eligible for federal food aid. — Juliana Kim, NPR, 3 Aug. 2026 What's the impact of immigration crackdowns and deportations of refugees and asylum seekers on the economy? — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 30 July 2026 The village’s daily rhythms are ordered by the passing trains—until a train arrives from Pakistan loaded with the corpses of Sikh refugees, and the community is made to cremate the dead. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026 Others carried cardboard monarch butterflies, a colorful symbol associated with the migration journeys of immigrants and refugees. — Lila Hempel-Edgers, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026 The monkeys were likely both refugees from the booming population of rhesus macaques widespread in Silver Springs State Park, which is roughly 50 miles away, and surrounding areas. — Rylan Digiacomo-Rapp, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refugees
  1. exiles
  2. aliens
  3. evacuees
  4. expatriates
Noun
  • In his brutal eight-year reign, Amin was estimated by exiles and human rights groups to have caused the deaths of at least 300,000 people and expelled the country’s Asian population.
    — Andrew Fifield, New York Times, 30 July 2026
  • In hard years, Noe Terrebonne, the great-great-grandson of Acadian exiles, would do a bit of smuggling for Li Shan, the Chinese proprietor of a shrimp-drying platform on Bayou Andre, in the marsh north-west of Cheniere Disparue.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
Definition of exiles
Noun
  • Once again, we’re shown Blunt’s character being hijacked by aliens mid-weather report, uttering an alien language of clicks and pops.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 27 May 2026
Definition of aliens
Noun
  • As cooler, more humid air moved into southwest France this week, authorities allowed two-thirds of the 224,000 evacuees to return home, including some more on Friday.
    — Mark Carlson, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026
  • The building is named after the mayor who pushed for construction of the 140,000-square-foot facility that can house 1,000 evacuees during heat storms and earthquakes.
    — Pat Maio, Daily News, 31 July 2026
Definition of evacuees
Noun
  • Likewise, the Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens provides a pathway for eligible former citizens with minimal tax liability to resolve outstanding filing obligations without becoming covered expatriates.
    — Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • His success in the States landed him on the Israeli reality series The Americans, which follows Israeli expatriates chasing the American dream in the United States.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2026
Definition of expatriates

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“Refugees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refugees. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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