refugee
A person seeking refuge (as for shelter or protection), especially in a foreign country, out of fear or prospect of political, religious persecution, war, natural disaster, etc.
Other meanings
A person who is fleeing from justice, punishment deemed righteous, etc.; a runaway, a fugitive.
Related words
- antirefugee
- leftugee
- McRefugee
- nonrefugee
- refugeedom
- refugeeism
- refugeeship
- refujew
- quota refugee
- rapefugee
- climate refugee
- economic refugee
Word history
From Latin "refugium" (a place of refuge, place to flee back to).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “refugee” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.