refugee
Americannoun
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refugees
plural
-
a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of refugee
First recorded in 1675–85; from French réfugié “taken refuge,” past participle of réfugier “to take refuge”; equivalent to refuge + -ee
Explanation
A refugee is someone who has left a dangerous place for a less dangerous place. You could help refugees from a hurricane by bringing them food and blankets. Refuge means shelter. So a refugee is a person that seeks shelter, usually from war, natural disaster, or some other harmful situation. If you see the conditions inside a refugee camp, you will realize how hard the lives of the refugees must have been before leaving home.
Vocabulary lists containing refugee
President Obama's Farewell Address
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A Long Way Gone
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Albert Einstein
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It has prompted hundreds of people to gather at refugee reception centres, fuelling anger among anti-immigration campaigners who fear the decision will encourage undocumented migration.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Baloyi insisted that the ruling does not automatically give migrants refugee status or the right to remain permanently in South Africa.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Bai, who is recognised by the United Nations as a refugee, arrived in Thailand in 2024 and has been detained in the Southeast Asian country since January 2026, the media rights group says.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The government stressed on Wednesday the judgement "does not grant refugee status or permanent residence automatically to anyone who enters South Africa".
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Natalie never thought she’d be a refugee either.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Among them were refugees granted protection in the US based on the likelihood they would be persecuted back home because of their orientation or gender identity.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations refugee agency, including more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar -- its largest refugee community.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The institute’s staff arranged small conferences to walk the elders through the personal histories of the refugees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He is the son of refugees who fled communist Vietnam and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, graduating from Rosemead High School.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He had covered a lot of conflicts—including the Iran-Iraq war and the crises in Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Congo—and he had followed the plight of refugees in Sudan, Iran, India, and Pakistan.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
