flee

Meaning

1. (intransitive) To run away; to escape.
2. (transitive) To escape from.
3. (intransitive) To disappear quickly; to vanish; to fleet.

Synonyms

run away

escape

run

fly

✈️

take flight

abscond

get away

leave

retreat

evade

elude

disappear

hurry

run off

take to one’s heels

avoid

slip away

desert

🏜️

lam

skedaddle

go away

vanish

hasten

fly the coop

shun

jump

break loose

break away

be routed

run fast

depart

run away from

go rapidly

cut and run

move swiftly

take to flight

bolt

skip

sneak away

hide

stampede

fleet

exiled

bustle

bunk

bend

drive off

make off

drive away

beat it

Translations

fuir

fliehen

fuggire

huir

s’enfuir

escapar

scappare

flüchten

fugir

vluchten

s’échapper

escapar

entfliehen

ontkomen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/fliː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: flen

Inherited from Old English: flēon

Cognate with Dutch: vlieden

Cognate with German: fliehen

Cognate with Icelandic: flýja

Cognate with Swedish: fly

Cognate with Gothic: 𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽

In summary

From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-Germanic *fleuhaną, from Proto-Indo-European *plewk-, *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”).
Cognate with Dutch vlieden, German fliehen, Icelandic flýja, Swedish fly, Gothic 𐌸𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌽 (þliuhan). Within English, related to fly and more distantly to flow.

Sentences

She refused to flee , declaring that she would never again go into exile .

It didn't even occur to the boy to flee .