asylum

American  

[uh-sahy-luhm] / əˈsaɪ ləm /

noun

asylums, plural asyla plural

1. (especially formerly) an institution for the maintenance and care of the mentally ill, orphans, or other persons requiring specialized assistance.

2. an inviolable refuge, as formerly for criminals and debtors; sanctuary.

   He sought asylum in the church.

   Synonyms:

   retreat, shelter, haven

3. International Law.

   1. a refuge granted an alien by a sovereign state on its own territory.

   2. a temporary refuge granted political offenders, especially in a foreign embassy.

4. any secure retreat.

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asylum British  

/ əˈsaɪləm /

noun

1. a safe or inviolable place of refuge, esp as formerly offered by the Christian Church to criminals, outlaws, etc; sanctuary (often in the phrase give asylum to )

2. shelter; refuge

3. international law refuge afforded to a person whose extradition is sought by a foreign government

   political asylum

4. obsolete an institution for the shelter, treatment, or confinement of individuals, esp a mental hospital (formerly termed lunatic asylum )

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• asyla
  plural
• asylums
  plural

Etymology

Origin of asylum

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin, from Greek ásȳlon “sanctuary,” from a- a- ⁶ + sŷlon “right of seizure”

Explanation

When someone needs a refuge from a difficult or dangerous situation, they need asylum. If a government offers to protect people who have fled war or hardship in their own country, it gives them asylum. You may have heard asylum used to describe an institution where insane people are housed, but did you know that an asylum can also be somewhere you’d happily and willingly go? An asylum offers shelter and protection, like the awning of a building in a downpour. Or it could be a country that takes in refugees in danger of persecution — otherwise known as "political asylum."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asylum asyla asylums

During the second day of the two-day hearing, the court also heard arguments over the home secretary's use of emergency powers to move asylum seekers to Crowborough.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

Brazil received a record 44,381 asylum applications from Cubans last year, more than any other country in Latin America and double from the previous year, according to CEDA, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks Cuban migration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

More than 200,000 Cubans filed for asylum in the U.S. last year as Washington shut down other legal pathways into the country, but few were successful, according to CEDA.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The Possilpark incident was sparked by what Glasgow City Council and police called "entirely factually incorrect" online speculation that a care home was to be extended to house asylum seekers.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

“You won’t put me to the asylum, will you?” he said.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Greece had its famous asyla, but the custom of our own country was probably influenced from Hebrew rather than classical sources.

From Legal Lore Curiosities of Law and Lawyers by Various

We no longer write of ideæ, chori, asyla, musea, sphinges, specimina for ideas, choruses, asylums, museums, sphinxes, specimens, and the notion of returning to such plurals would seem barbarous and absurd.

From Society for Pure English, Tract 03 (1920) A Few Practical Suggestions by Society for Pure English

Or were they swimming with the normative current in order to maintain careers, families, social standing — or, for that matter, to avoid being sent to asylums for shock treatment?

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

Orson and Lorenzo, consummate showmen, were summoned to prisons, where they inspected the heads of inmates and guessed their crimes; at lunatic asylums they were challenged to identify the patients’ disorders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

The Magdalene Laundries were back in the spotlight recently following the death of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who spent time in one of the former asylums as a teenager.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2023

From the 1960s to ’80s, as most asylums closed, the Supreme Court and other federal courts attempted to establish tighter restrictions on forcibly treating people under civil mental health laws.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023

Others suffered nightmares and panic attacks for the rest of their lives, and some shell-shock victims were confined to insane asylums.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• haven
• refuge
• sanctuary
• shelter