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

Then we flew north to Poland, where a little church with a big heart had taken in 60 Ukrainian refugees who had fled the war.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Additionally, when calculating net migration, only countries which include asylum seekers or refugees in their immigration figures are included, these are:

Read more on BBC

After a large influx of refugees into Sweden in 2015, many of whom were from Syria, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and migration rules.

Read more on Barron's

Wearing a navy blue outfit and white turban, another refugee, Youssouf, was sitting under a shed, his eyes reflecting the trauma of his experiences, when the BBC met him.

Read more on BBC

In part of the story Santa shows two youngsters the hardships faced by a group of refugee children.

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Related Words

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