escapist

American  

[ih-skey-pist] / ɪˈskeɪ pɪst /

noun

1. a person who avoids reality by becoming absorbed in entertainment or fantasy.

   I, for one, am an escapist, so pondering whether an anime series is "looking out into the world" isn't something I concern myself with.

2. a person who tries or manages to get out of captivity; an escape artist or escapee.

   In 1864, the celebrated prison escapist Hamilton tunneled his way to freedom with 60 other captured Union officers.

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adjective

1. avoiding reality through entertainment or fantasy, or enabling people to do so.

   His childhood taste for cowboy adventures and escapist films like Tarzan gave way to an admiration for realist European directors.

Etymology

Origin of escapist

escap(e) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

What it says about America: A country facing deindustrialization and stagflation turned toward escapist glamour and pop songs that fused funk, soul and R&B—and got people on the dance floor.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

Fuel those escapist daydreams with travel inspiration ideal for decorating dreary cubicles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

What the app offered, however, was escapist materials built around turning off reflection, instead of encouraging it.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025

It fits into Netflix making star-packed, entertaining and escapist movies that often get panned by reviewers - but are watched by hundreds of millions of subscribers.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2025

Whatever else Beethoven’s music may have been, it was certainly not intended to be escapist.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall