mass exodus
Everyone leaving together
A mass exodus is a large-scale departure of people from a place, typically driven by crisis, persecution, or dramatic change.
The term combines the idea of quantity with the biblical Exodus, when the Israelites fled Egypt.
It applies to refugees fleeing war, populations abandoning failing cities, or employees leaving a troubled company: The announcement triggered a mass exodus of senior staff.
The phrase emphasizes both the number of people leaving and the urgency or significance of their departure.
- ethnic cleansingSystematic removal of populations
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- forced migrationInvoluntary mass relocation
- refugee crisisMass forced migration situation
- boat peopleRefugees traveling by sea
internal displacement · war · diaspora · seeking asylum · political instability · famine · border crossing · evacuation · international aid · refugee camps · safe passage · flight · climate change · population decline · natural disaster · humanitarian aid · conflict · refugee flows
- migrationmigration, immigrants, refugees, immigration, emigration
- displacementdislocation, dislodging, relocation, displacing, uprooting
- depopulationpopulation loss, emptying, hollowing out, emigration, outflow
- East GermanyStasi, GDR, DDR, Berlin Wall, East Germany
- disastersdisaster, earthquake, earthquakes, catastrophe, floods
- corporate crisesbankruptcy filing, scandal, lawsuit, layoffs, data breach
mass exodusentrenchment
Fortified or fixed position
staying put · settling in · rootedness · taking root · hunkering down