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fugitive

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fugitive different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of fugitive are ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, momentary, transient, and transitory. While all these words mean "lasting or staying only a short time," fugitive and fleeting imply passing so quickly as to make apprehending difficult.

let a fugitive smile flit across his face
fleeting moments of joy

When is ephemeral a more appropriate choice than fugitive?

The meanings of ephemeral and fugitive largely overlap; however, ephemeral implies striking brevity of life or duration.

many slang words are ephemeral

When is it sensible to use evanescent instead of fugitive?

In some situations, the words evanescent and fugitive are roughly equivalent. However, evanescent suggests a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality.

the story has an evanescent touch of whimsy that is lost in translation

When can momentary be used instead of fugitive?

While in some cases nearly identical to fugitive, momentary suggests coming and going quickly and therefore being merely a brief interruption of a more enduring state.

my feelings of guilt were only momentary

Where would transient be a reasonable alternative to fugitive?

The words transient and fugitive are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, transient applies to what is actually short in its duration or stay.

a hotel catering primarily to transient guests

In what contexts can transitory take the place of fugitive?

The words transitory and fugitive can be used in similar contexts, but transitory applies to what is by its nature or essence bound to change, pass, or come to an end.

fame in the movies is transitory

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fugitive
Adjective
Pratt remained an international fugitive for years as each of his co-conspirators eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced. Alex Riggins, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2025 Pratt remained an international fugitive for years as each of his co-conspirators eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced. Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
Farmland in the Waikato region of New Zealand where the then fugitive father Tom Phillips and his missing children were spotted on October 3, 2024, in Marokopa. Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025 Phoenix was also one of the youngest people ever nominated for an Academy Award, earning the nod at age 18 for playing the piano prodigy son of fugitive political activists in Running on Empty (1988). Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fugitive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fugitive
Adjective
  • The Israeli military was targeting elusive Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
    Nic Robertson, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
  • From theory to reality Multiscale coupling has long been one of the most elusive challenges in plasma physics, which represents the branch of science that studies the fourth state of matter known as plasma (a state beyond solids, liquids, and gases).
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • What To Know A map shared by the NWS on Facebook showed a broad corridor of flash-flood risk spanning the Western states and Southern Plains.
    Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
  • The emerging miners, exposed directly to the flash during its first split second, were covered in flash-absorbing black.
    Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • My Life on the Road and wanted to ask about her experience growing up with a nomadic family that rarely put her in in-person school.
    Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025
  • Mongolia’s vast steppes and nomadic heritage have long shaped the rhythms of life.
    Munkhtuya Rentsenbat, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Labrador-Sierra pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an alien, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and using false documents.
    Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The alien, to a degree, represents nature.
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Stage two would see Gaza governed by a temporary transitional body consisting of a technocratic, apolitical committee composed of Palestinians and international members.
    Asher Kaufman, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2025
  • This temporary relocation ensures that the Nashville Fire Department can continue serving the community while creating the necessary space for the construction of a modern headquarters and fire station.
    Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • New this season are nomad-style cooking workshops, starlit movies for younger campers, and sunrise hawk walks.
    Katharina Kotrba, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In the wake of the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train, the state legislature introduced a bill to crack down on bail for violent offenders, drawing praise from one crime expert.
    Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Gaza is home to the highest number of child amputees per capita worldwide, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Wednesday.
    Christina Macfarlane, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The finding of methane in gas form could be due to either the presence of a tenuous atmosphere on Makemake, or a more transient activity such as that experienced by comets when its volatiles sublimate, or from cryovolcanic plumes, according to the study authors.
    Andrew Jones, Space.com, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer.
    Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 26 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fugitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fugitive. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.

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