fugitive
/ˈfjuːdʒətɪv/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfjuːdʒətɪv/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfyü-jə-tiv/ (ame, mw) · /ˈfjuː.dʒə.tɪv/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfjuː.dʒə.t̬ɪv/ (ame, ipa)
fugitive — noun
- fugitivesingular
- fugitivesplural
1. someone who is escaping from the police, the army, or another threat by hiding o
someone who is escaping from the police, the army, or another threat by hiding or moving from place to place so they will not be caught.
Christopher had lived as a fugitive in the mountains for almost three years.
live as a fugitive
Police across four states are hunting a fugitive who escaped from a prison van in Dallas.
hunt a fugitive
Tamar's grandfather had been a wartime fugitive, sleeping in barns and walking only at night.
The bank robber became a fugitive from justice after jumping bail in Chicago.
Reporters discovered that the missing accountant was a fugitive wanted in two countries.
- runaway
broader; often used of children or teenagers leaving home, not necessarily wanted by police.
- escapee
specifically someone who has broken out of confinement (prison, camp); a fugitive may have simply absconded.
- refugee
someone fleeing danger to seek safety, usually in another country; carries no implication of crime.
文法句型
a fugitive from [law/justice/somewhere]
用法筆記
Often appears in fixed phrases like 'fugitive from justice' or 'fugitive from the law'. Frequently modified by descriptors of what the person is fleeing (war, the police, a regime).
常見錯誤
fugitive — adjective
- fugitivepositive
- more fugitivecomparative
- most fugitivesuperlative
1. vanishing almost as soon as it appears — used mainly in writing of thoughts, fee
vanishing almost as soon as it appears — used mainly in writing of thoughts, feelings, colours, scents, or moments that fade or change very quickly.
A fugitive smile crossed Mateo's face before he turned back to the window.
fugitive + [emotion-noun] attributive
The garden was full of fugitive scents that disappeared as soon as the wind shifted.
fugitive + scents/colours/light
Layla felt only a fugitive sense of regret before she signed the contract.
Sunset painted the wall with fugitive shades of pink that were gone in two minutes.
- fleeting
much more common in modern English for the same meaning; safer choice outside literary writing.
- transient
neutral and slightly more formal; common in scientific or technical writing (a transient phase, a transient guest).
- ephemeral
stresses that something exists for only a very short natural span (an ephemeral insect, ephemeral fame).
文法句型
fugitive + [noun: thoughts/feelings/colour/moment]
用法筆記
Almost always used before the noun (attributive), not after a linking verb. Tends to appear in literary or descriptive writing rather than ordinary speech; in conversation, 'brief' or 'fleeting' is far more common.
常見錯誤
2. describing a person — or a group of people — in flight from the police, an army,
describing a person — or a group of people — in flight from the police, an army, or another power that is trying to catch them.
Jabari helped fugitive families cross the river under the cover of darkness.
fugitive + [people: families/slaves/refugees]
The village quietly sheltered a fugitive soldier for the rest of the winter.
fugitive soldier / fugitive king / fugitive slave
Old letters from the period describe a network that fed and hid fugitive workers.
The film follows a fugitive banker who hides on a Greek island for six months.
文法句型
fugitive + [noun: slave/criminal/king]
用法筆記
Used before the noun, not after 'be'. Distinguish from sense 1 (SHORT-LIVED): this sense always describes people in flight from authority; sense 1 describes things that fade quickly.