refugee

[ref-yoo-jee, ref-yoo-jee]

noun

1. a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.

2. political refugee.

refugee

/ ˌrɛfjʊˈdʒiː /

noun

1. 1. a person who has fled from some danger or problem, esp political persecution

      refugees from Rwanda

   2. ( as modifier )

      a refugee camp

      a refugee problem

Other Word Forms

• refugeeism noun
• prorefugee adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of refugee¹

First recorded in 1675–85; from French réfugié “taken refuge,” past participle of réfugier “to take refuge”; equivalent to refuge + -ee

Example Sentences

"We know who is underfunding our services. It's not migrants and refugees," she said.

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His vision of power, propaganda and language as a weapon meets a barrage of torn-from-the-news imagery: refugees adrift on boats, authoritarian leaders twisting the truth, AI hallucinations blurring what’s left of reality.

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Most contentiously, these rollbacks to Medicaid cuts would reverse restrictions that made immigrants who are generally present in the country legally, such as refugees and asylum-seekers, ineligible for Medicaid and ACA coverage.

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When the book begins, these plans have been torn asunder: Marc, as it transpires, has been killed in a rebel attack on a refugee camp in Libya.

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Unlike Reform, the Tories are not promising to formally disapply the Refugee Convention, a 1951 treaty that prevents signatory countries from returning refugees to countries where they face serious threats to their life or freedom.

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Related Words

• alien 
• displaced person 
• emigrant 
• evacuee 
• exile 
• expatriate 
• foreigner