fugitive

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   Someone who has escaped from custody or is hiding to avoid being caught or punished.

   Grammar: Often followed by from: a fugitive from justice.

   Patterns

   • a fugitive from something
   • a fugitive from the law

   The fugitive was found hiding in a barn outside the town.

   Police issued a warning about an armed fugitive.

   He lived as a fugitive for ten years after escaping.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounliterary

   Lasting only a very short time and difficult to hold or keep.

   Grammar: Used before a noun in a literary style: a fugitive thought.

   Patterns

   • a fugitive moment
   • a fugitive glimpse

   She caught a fugitive glimpse of the deer between the trees.

   The poem captures fugitive moments of joy.

   A fugitive smile crossed his face.

Word forms

Common combinations

a fugitive from justice

He became a fugitive from justice after skipping bail.

hunt for a fugitive

Officers began a hunt for the fugitive.

a wanted fugitive

The wanted fugitive was spotted at the station.

harbor a fugitive

It is a crime to harbor a fugitive.

a fugitive moment

A fugitive moment of peace passed.

Synonyms and how they differ

runaway

Runaway often means a young person who has left home, while fugitive suggests escaping the law.

escapee

Escapee focuses on having got out of a place, but fugitive stresses continued hiding.

outlaw

Outlaw is old-fashioned and suggests someone living outside the law.

refugee

A refugee flees danger such as war and is not necessarily a lawbreaker, unlike a fugitive.

Opposites

Word family

fugitively adverb

in a fleeting or secretive way

fugue noun

a musical piece in which melodies chase each other

refuge noun

shelter from danger

Commonly confused: fugitive or refugee?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fugitive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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