refugee

[ref-yoo-jee, ref-yoo-jee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR refugee ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who flees for refuge or safety, especially to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc.

political refugee.

Nearby words

Origin of refugee

1675–85; < French réfugié, past participle of réfugier to take refuge. See refuge, -ee

Related formsref·u·gee·ism, nounpro·ref·u·gee, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for refugee

In 1996, Bourjerdi was granted political asylum and went to Australia as a refugee.
The Sydney Astrologer Turned Islamic Radical|Jacob Siegel|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The refugee stories are compelling at first, but horrific details are numbing.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Today, she and her family are among the 13,500 Syrian refugee families living in Concern-supported housing in northern Lebanon.
Drawing on the Memories of Syrian Women|Masha Hamilton|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Refugee camps played a crucial role during the Second Intifada.
Intifada 3.0: Growing Unrest and a Plot to Kill an Israeli Minister|Creede Newton|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“The situation is no longer under control,” says Ehab, a resident of al-Amari refugee camp outside Ramallah.
Intifada 3.0: Growing Unrest and a Plot to Kill an Israeli Minister|Creede Newton|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Refugee camps one termed then and therein lived 20,000 of the city's homeless.
Port O' Gold|Louis John Stellman
These refugee children had seen so many sorrows that they had forgotten that they were young.
Revisiting the Earth|James Langdon Hill
Nan insisted that this last person was a Nihilist, while Jo declared she was an American refugee.
The Four Corners Abroad|Amy Ella Blanchard
The 11th we arrived off Maule's Point, and took on as a refugee Mrs. Forbes.
Reminiscences of Two Years in the United States Navy|John M. Batten
De Beers came out strong in another direction by heading the list of subscriptions to a Refugee fund which had been opened.
The Siege of Kimberley|T. Phelan

British Dictionary definitions for refugee

refugee

noun

a person who has fled from some danger or problem, esp political persecutionrefugees from Rwanda
(as modifier)a refugee camp; a refugee problem

Derived Formsrefugeeism, noun

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

refugee

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.

refugee

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of refugee

Examples from the Web for refugee

refugee

noun

refugee