refugee

noun

ref·​u·​gee ˌre-fyu̇-ˈjē 

ˈre-fyu̇-ˌjē

: one that flees

especially : a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution

refugeeism

ˌre-fyu̇-ˈjē-ˌi-zəm 

ˈre-fyu̇-ˌjē-

noun

Synonyms

• deportee
• émigré
• emigré
• evacuee
• exile
• expat [chiefly British]
• expatriate

Examples of refugee in a Sentence

Thousands of refugees have fled the area.

refugees began returning to their homeland after years of political unrest and war

Recent Examples on the Web

Writer-director’s Tilman Singer’s project was finally headed toward pre-production in West Germany when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in the German government taking Cuckoo’s filming locations to house Ukrainian refugees. —Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Oct. 2024

And while Seoul’s official position remains pro-reunification, younger South Koreans are also increasingly dismissing the idea, viewing it as a costly undertaking that will simply invite in a mass of impoverished refugees who will struggle to adjust in a capitalist democracy. —Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024

But to a group of Ukrainian refugees who climbed it last August, as part of a summer camp hosted by the U.S.-based Mountain Seed Foundation, Kitzsteinhorn symbolized hope. —Kyra Kennedy, Outside Online, 29 Sep. 2024

Borjas — who was among the more than three dozen economists who authored the National Academies consensus paper — studied the Mariel boatlift, a mass emigration of 125,000 Cuban refugees to South Florida from April to October 1980. —Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French réfugié, past participle of (se) réfugier to take refuge, from Middle French refugier, from Latin refugium

First Known Use

1685, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

refugee

noun

ref·​u·​gee ˌref-yu̇-ˈjē 

ˈref-yu̇-ˌjē

: a person who flees for safety especially to a foreign country

Etymology

from French réfugié, past participle of réfugier "to put in a place of safety," from Latin refugium "a refuge," from refugere "to run away from, escape," from re- "again, against" and fugere "to run away, flee" — related to centrifugal, fugitive

Legal Definition

refugee

noun

ref·​u·​gee ˌre-fyu̇-ˈjē 

: an individual seeking refuge or asylum

especially : an individual who has left his or her native country and is unwilling or unable to return to it because of persecution or fear of persecution (as because of race, religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion)