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

Derived Forms

• ˈfugitiveness, noun
• ˈfugitively, adverb

Other Words From

• fu·gi·tive·ly adverb
• fu·gi·tiv·i·ty [fyoo-ji-, tiv, -i-tee], fu·gi·tive·ness noun
• non·fu·gi·tive adjective noun
• non·fu·gi·tive·ly adverb
• non·fu·gi·tive·ness noun
• un·fu·gi·tive adjective
• un·fu·gi·tive·ly 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

Several hundred million tons of plastics are produced each year globally, and an estimated 79% of this material ends up in landfills or "becomes fugitive in the environment," the researchers wrote in their report.

From Science Daily

The rhesus macaque fugitives busted out of Alpha Genesis, a company that breeds primates for medical testing and research, and are on the loose in a part of the state known as the Lowcountry.

From BBC

Sandu and Moldova's authorities have warned that a fugitive oligarch now based in Russia is trying to buy the election for Moscow.

From BBC

And, they argue, today’s prison labor industry is an extension of a law California passed soon after joining the union in 1850 that criminalized fugitive slaves and sent them back to plantations in the South.

From Los Angeles Times

An Italian mafia fugitive - who served as an intermediary with Colombian drug gangs - has been arrested after almost four years on the run in South America.

From BBC

Related Words

• elusive