Fugitive Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

Britannica Dictionary definition of FUGITIVE

[count]

:

a person who is running away to avoid being captured

• They discovered that the slave was a fugitive.

especially

:

a person who is trying to escape being arrested by the police

— often + from

• He's a fugitive from the law.
• She has been charged with helping a fugitive from justice.

Britannica Dictionary definition of FUGITIVE

always used before a noun

1

:

running away to avoid being captured

• a fugitive slave

2

literary

:

lasting a very short time

• As he daydreamed, fugitive thoughts/dreams passed through his mind.