refugee
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refugee
- /ˈɹɛfjʊd͡ʒiː/
- /ɹɛfjʊˈd͡ʒiː/
Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
From French réfugié, past participle of réfugier (“to take refuge, to seek refuge”), from Old French refuge (“hiding place”) from Latin refugium (“a place of refuge, place to flee back to”), originally describing French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Noun sense 1 was "one seeking asylum" until 1914, when it evolved to mean more generally "one fleeing home" (first applied in this sense to civilians in Flanders heading west to escape fighting in World War I). By surface analysis, refuge + -ee. Displaced native Old English flīema.
noun refugees
- 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. In 1962 a special law had to be passed to permit the immigration of several thousand Chinese refugees who had escaped from Communist China to Hong Kong.
- A person who is fleeing from justice, punishment deemed righteous, etc.; a runaway, a fugitive.
Similar: flightling
verb refugees · refugeeing · refugeed
- To convey (slaves) away from the advance of the federal forces.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: emigre, recourse, caseload, nuthouse, madhouse, hiding, sanctuary, asylum, refuge, shelter, resort, unhcr, haven, resorting, exile, asylum-seeker
noun
Similar: flightling
Translations
Every language
noun person granted formal asylum
| 中文 | 難民 /难民 nànmín |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | शरणार्थी śarṇārthī |
| Kiswahili | mkimbizi |
| Português | asilado |
| Deutsch | Flüchtling |
| Русский | бе́женец béženec, бе́женка béženka |
noun person seeking political asylum
| Español | refugiado, refugiada |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 난민 nanmin |
| 日本語 | 難民 nanmin |
| 中文 | 難民 /难民 nànmín, 避難者 /避难者 bìnànzhě |
| हिन्दी | शरणार्थी śarṇārthī |
| Kiswahili | mkimbizi |
| Português | refugiado, refugiada |
| Français | réfugié, réfugiée |
| Deutsch | Flüchtling, Flüchtlingin, Asylant, Asylantin, Asylbewerber, Asylbewerberin |
| Italiano | rifugiato, rifugiata, profugo |
| Ελληνικά | πρόσφυγας prósfygas |
| Română | refugiat, refugiată |
| Русский | бе́женец béženec, бе́женка béženka |
| Tiếng Việt | người tị nạn, người tỵ nạn, tị nạn, tỵ nạn |
| العربية | لَاجِئ lājiʔ, لَاجِئَة lājiʔa |
| עברית | פָּלִיט palít |
noun person seeking economic asylum
| Español | refugiado |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 難民 nanmin |
| 中文 | 難民 /难民 nànmín |
| हिन्दी | शरणार्थी śarṇārthī |
| Kiswahili | mkimbizi |
| Português | expatriado |
| Français | réfugié |
| Deutsch | Flüchtling |
| Русский | бе́женец béženec, бе́женка béženka |
| Tiếng Việt | người tị nạn, người tỵ nạn, tị nạn, tỵ nạn |
| العربية | لَاجِئ lājiʔ |
noun person seeking refuge from natural disaster
| Español | refugiado |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 災民 /灾民 zāimín |
| हिन्दी | शरणार्थी śarṇārthī |
| Kiswahili | mkimbizi |
| Português | desabrigado |
| Deutsch | Flüchtling |
| Русский | бе́женец béženec, бе́женка béženka |
| Tiếng Việt | người tị nạn, người tỵ nạn, tị nạn, tỵ nạn |
Talk about this word "refugee." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/refugee. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. refugee. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/refugee "refugee." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/refugee.Cite this
@misc{refugee_2026,
title = {refugee},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/refugee},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
