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

Derived Forms

• ˌrefuˈgeeism, noun

Other Words From

• refu·geeism noun
• proref·u·gee 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

On the final day of half-term, at 16:45 on Friday 16 October, Samuel Paty was stabbed and decapitated by the 18-year-old Chechen refugee outside the school.

From BBC

The former headteacher of a French school has revealed the shocking sequence of events that led to the beheading of Samuel Paty by a Chechen refugee.

From BBC

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel cited the opening of a new land crossing, and deliveries resuming in the north - although he did not say any had entered the besieged Jabalia refugee camp.

From BBC

Born in Berlin in 1931, Auerbach came to England in 1939, arriving in London as a refugee from Nazi Germany as one of six children sponsored by the writer Iris Origo.

From BBC

Last month, the Knesset passed a bill to ban the Unrwa, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, from operating in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem, accusing the organisation of colluding with Hamas.

From BBC

Related Words

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