refugee
[ref-yoo-jee, ref-yoo-jee]
- a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.
- political refugee.
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Origin of refugee
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for refugee
Contemporary Examples
In 1996, Bourjerdi was granted political asylum and went to Australia as a refugee.
The refugee stories are compelling at first, but horrific details are numbing.
Today, she and her family are among the 13,500 Syrian refugee families living in Concern-supported housing in northern Lebanon.
Refugee camps played a crucial role during the Second Intifada.
“The situation is no longer under control,” says Ehab, a resident of al-Amari refugee camp outside Ramallah.
Historical Examples
Some said his father was a Russian refugee, his mother a Mongol woman.
He had no wish to provoke a conflict, but he had no thought of surrendering the refugee.
Billy Topsail & CompanyNorman Duncan
His father was a refugee from France, and desired to let a part of his house.
Shawl-StrapsLouisa M. Alcott
Never mind, I'll pay you as much as a refugee—within reason.
Greener Than You ThinkWard Moore
Mr. Grindrod and I engaged in reading together "The Refugee."
A Journey to America in 1834Robert Heywood
refugee
- a person who has fled from some danger or problem, esp political persecutionrefugees from Rwanda
- (as modifier)a refugee camp; a refugee problem
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for refugee
n.
1680s, from French refugié, noun use of past participle of refugier "to take shelter, protect," from Old French refuge (see refuge). First applied to French Huguenots who migrated after the revocation (1685) of the Edict of Nantes. The word meant "one seeking asylum," till 1914, when it evolved to mean "one fleeing home" (first applied in this sense to civilians in Flanders heading west to escape fighting in World War I). In Australian slang from World War II, reffo.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper