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Webster 1913 Edition


Fugitive

Fu′gi-tive

,
Adj.
[OE.
fugitif
, F.
fugitif
, fr. L.
fugitivus
, fr.
fugere
to flee. See
Bow
to bend, and cf.
Feverfew
.]
1.
Fleeing from pursuit, danger, restraint, etc., escaping, from service, duty etc.;
as, a
fugitive
solder; a
fugitive
slave;
a fugitive
debtor.
The
fugitive
Parthians follow.
Shakespeare
Can a
fugitive
daughter enjoy herself while her parents are in tear?
Richardson
A libellous pamphlet of a fugitive physician.
Sir H. Wotton.
2.
Not fixed; not durable; liable to disappear or fall away; volatile; uncertain; evanescent; liable to fade; – applied to material and immaterial things;
as,
fugitive
colors; a
fugitive
idea.
The me more tender and fugitive parts, the leaves . . . of vegatables.
Woodward.
Syn. – Fleeting; unstable; wandering; uncertain; volatile; fugacious; fleeing; evanescent.

Fu′gi-tive

,
Noun.
1.
One who flees from pursuit, danger, restraint, service, duty, etc.; a deserter;
as, a
fugitive
from justice
.
2.
Something hard to be caught or detained.
Or Catch that airy
fugitive
called wit.
Harte.
Fugitive from justice
(Law)
,
one who, having committed a crime in one jurisdiction, flees or escapes into another to avoid punishment.

Webster 1828 Edition


Fugitive

FU'GITIVE

,
Adj.
[L. fugitivus, from fugio, to flee. Gr.]
1.
Volatile; apt to flee away; readily wafted by the wind.
The more tender and fugitive parts -
2.
Not tenable; not to be held or detained; readily escaping; as a fugitive idea.
3.
Unstable; unsteady; fleeting; not fixed or durable.
4.
Fleeing; running from danger or pursuit.
5.
Fleeing from duty; eloping; escaping.
Can a fugitive daughter enjoy herself, while her parents are in tears?
6.
Wandering; vagabond; as a fugitive physician.
7.
In literature, fugitive compositions are such as are short and occasional, written in haste or at intervals, and considered to be fleeting and temporary.

FU'GITIVE

, n.
1.
One who fees from his station or duty; a deserter; one who flees from danger.
2.
One who has fled or deserted and taken refuge under another power, or one who has fled from punishment.
3.
One hard to be caught or detained.
Or catch that airy fugitive, called wit.

Definition 2024


fugitive

fugitive

English

Noun

fugitive (plural fugitives)

  1. A person who flees or escapes and travels secretly from place to place, and sometimes using disguises and aliases to conceal his/her identity, as to avoid law authorities in order to avoid an arrest or prosecution; or to avoid some other unwanted situation.
    • 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter VI”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:
      “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, [] the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, the jewelled animals whose moral code is the code of the barnyard—!”

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

fugitive (comparative more fugitive, superlative most fugitive)

  1. fleeing or running away
  2. transient, fleeting or ephemeral
  3. elusive or difficult to retain

Translations


French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fy.ʒi.tiv/
  • Rhymes: -iv
  • Homophone: fugitives

Noun

fugitive f (plural fugitives, masculine fugitif)

  1. feminine equivalent of fugitif; a female fugitive

Latin

Adjective

fugitīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of fugitīvus