fugitive

[fyoo-ji-tiv]

noun

1. a person who is fleeing, as from prosecution, intolerable circumstances, etc.; a runaway.

   a fugitive from justice;

   a fugitive from a dictatorial regime.

adjective

1. having taken flight, or run away.

   The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the Compromise of 1850 that led the United States even closer to civil war.

2. fleeting; transitory; elusive.

   fugitive thoughts that could not be formulated.

   Synonyms: temporary, brief, flying, passing, transient
   Antonyms: permanent

3. Fine Arts.,  changing color as a result of exposure to light and chemical substances present in the atmosphere, in other pigments, or in the medium.

4. dealing with subjects of passing interest, as writings; ephemeral.

   fugitive essays.

   Synonyms: light, trivial, evanescent, momentary
   Antonyms: lasting

5. wandering, roving, or vagabond.

   a fugitive carnival.

fugitive

/ ˈfjuːdʒɪtɪv /

noun

1. a person who flees

2. a thing that is elusive or fleeting

adjective

1. fleeing, esp from arrest or pursuit

2. not permanent; fleeting; transient

3. moving or roving about

Other Word Forms

• fugitiveness noun
• fugitively adverb
• fugitivity noun
• nonfugitive adjective
• nonfugitively adverb
• nonfugitiveness noun
• unfugitive adjective
• unfugitively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fugitive¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin fugitīvus “fleeing,” equivalent to fugit(us) (past participle of fugere “to flee”) + -īvus adjective suffix ( -ive ); replacing Middle English fugitif, from Old French

Word History and Origins

Origin of fugitive¹

C14: from Latin fugitīvus fleeing away, from fugere to take flight, run away

Example Sentences

He helped direct global efforts to hunt down Chinese fugitives accused of graft who had fled abroad.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The alleged leader of La Barredora, a former security chief in Tabasco, is now imprisoned in Mexico after being arrested as a fugitive in Paraguay.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"It would be disheartening if the removal of alleged fugitives to Britain put ordinary citizens at increased risk of being sent the other way," she added.

Read more on BBC

We have found links between the secret network and Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor - sanctioned by the US for "the Kremlin's malign influence operations" and now a fugitive in Moscow.

Read more on BBC

“I argue it was the fugitive crisis, more than the territorial crisis, that drove the coming of the Civil War,” Pinsker said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deserter 
• escapee 
• exile 
• outcast 
• outlaw 
• refugee