fleeing
Making hasty departure
Fleeing is the act of running away from danger, threat, or an undesirable situation.
The word captures active escape in progress: Residents were photographed fleeing the wildfire, refugees fleeing persecution.
It emphasizes urgency and often fear—you flee what threatens you, not merely what inconveniences you.
Flee to avoid capture
- boltThreaded rod for nuts
- dashQuick burst or pinch
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- getawaySwift departure or retreat
runaway · scamper · scoot · scuttle · skedaddle · vanish · decamp · sprint
Avoid by quick movement
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
- eludeSkillfully avoid capture
- avoidStay away from
- circumventAvoid by going around
outmaneuver · duck · swerve · evade · escape · outrun · shake · lose
Person fleeing danger abroad
- asylumShelter from persecution
- sanctuaryProtected sacred space
- safetyFreedom from harm
- shelterProtected place or structure
protection · haven · displaced · relocation · exile · emigrant · defector · escapee
Mass departure from somewhere
- migrateMove to new region
- emigrateLeave for another country
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- displacementRemoval from usual location
evacuation · resettlement · transplant · uproot · disperse · scatter · outflow · brain drain
Excessively quick, ill-considered
- swiftMoving with speed
- rushQuick sudden movement
- desperateDriven by urgent need
- franticWildly anxious or desperate
panicked · headlong · precipitate · hurried · scrambling · breakneck · pell-mell · helter-skelter
abscond
Flee to avoid capture
getaway · runaway · scamper · scoot · scuttle · skedaddle · vanish · decamp · sprint · elude
dodge
Avoid by quick movement
circumvent · outmaneuver · duck · swerve · evade · escape · outrun · shake · lose · mislead
refugee
Person fleeing danger abroad
shelter · protection · haven · displaced · relocation · exile · emigrant · defector · escapee · border
exodus
Mass departure from somewhere
- migrateMove to new region
- emigrateLeave for another country
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
displacement · evacuation · resettlement · transplant · uproot · disperse · scatter · outflow · brain drain · expat
hasty
Excessively quick, ill-considered
frantic · panicked · headlong · precipitate · hurried · scrambling · breakneck · pell-mell · helter-skelter · madcap
threat
Indication of potential harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
disaster · hazard · jeopardy · menace · terror · distress · emergency · predator · pursuer · persecution
- gerundswalking, running, talking, eating, sleeping
- animal behaviorsswimming, running, walking, jumping, flying
- evasionevasion, avoiding, avoids, evade, dodging
- nocturnal activitynight vision, night feeding, prowling, stalking, night flying
- displacementdislocation, dislodging, relocation, displacing, uprooting
- emigrationemigrant, emigration, economic migrants, emigre, political refugees
fleeingapproaching
Coming toward something
advancing · arriving · coming · charging · converging
fleeingconfronting
Addressing directly
fighting · standing one's ground · facing · resisting · engaging
- fleeing violence
- fleeing policeAttempting to evade arrest
- fleeing oppressionEscaping systematic persecution