refugee
noun
Simple meaning
A person who is fleeing from justice, punishment deemed righteous.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rehfyoojeeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹɛfjudʒi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
attributivealso figurative
A person seeking refuge (as for shelter or protection), especially in a foreign country, out of fear or prospect of political, religious persecution, war, natural disaster, etc.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person seeking refuge (as for shelter or protection), especially in a foreign country, out of fear or prospect of political, religious persecution, war, natural disaster, etc.
Used this way, refugee is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Religion/spirituality
- Historical writing
- Government/politics
- Personal/emotional discussion
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use refugee
- “Many organizations provide assistance to refugee families worldwide.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Shelter for persons displaced by war or political oppression or for religious beliefs.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
- asylumnoun
- migrationnoun
- migrantnoun
- immigrationnoun
- immigrantnoun
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “refugee” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.