refuge

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Protection or shelter from danger, trouble, or bad weather.

   Grammar: Often with take or seek: take refuge in a cave.

   Patterns

   • take refuge in something
   • seek refuge from something

   We took refuge in a barn when the storm began.

   Thousands of people sought refuge from the fighting.

   The hikers found refuge under a rocky ledge.

2. 2nouncountable

   A place that offers safety or protection, such as a shelter or protected area.

   Grammar: Countable for a place: a wildlife refuge, a refuge for women.

   Patterns

   • a refuge for someone
   • a refuge from something

   The island is a refuge for rare birds.

   The charity runs a refuge for people escaping violence.

   His study was his quiet refuge from the busy house.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountablefigurative

   Something you turn to for comfort or relief when life is hard.

   Grammar: Often figurative: find refuge in music.

   Patterns

   • find refuge in something

   She found refuge in books during her difficult teenage years.

   Music became his refuge when he felt anxious.

   Humor was her refuge from grief.

Word forms

Common combinations

take refuge

Villagers took refuge in the church.

seek refuge

Many families sought refuge abroad.

wildlife refuge

The wildlife refuge protects wetland birds.

safe refuge

The mountain hut was a safe refuge.

find refuge

He found refuge in his garden.

last refuge

For him, the sea was a last refuge.

Synonyms and how they differ

shelter

Shelter often means a physical structure that keeps you from weather, while refuge stresses escape from danger.

sanctuary

Sanctuary suggests a holy or especially protected place, and it is a stronger, more formal word.

haven

Haven suggests a peaceful and welcoming place, often in a figurative sense.

asylum

Asylum is a legal protection granted by a country to people fleeing persecution.

Opposites

Word family

refugee noun

a person forced to flee their country for safety

refuge verb

rarely, to shelter someone, now largely archaic

refugium noun

an area where species survive during hard climate conditions

Commonly confused: refuge or refuse?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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