flee
verb/ˈfliː/
Etymology
From Middle English flen, from Old English flēon, from Proto-West Germanic *fleuhan, 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.
- derived from *plewk-✻
- inherited from *fleuhaną✻
- inherited from *fleuhan✻
- inherited from flēon
- inherited from flen
Definitions
To run away
To run away; to escape.
- The prisoner tried to flee, but was caught by the guards.
- The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.
- As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.
To escape from.
- Many people fled the country as war loomed.
- Thousands of people moved northward trying to flee the drought.
- The Government, having lit the fuse, is not going to be allowed to flee the explosion.
To disappear quickly
To disappear quickly; to vanish; to fleet.
- Ethereal products flee once freely exposed to air.
The neighborhood
- synonymabscond
- synonymabsquatulate
- synonymamscray
- synonymbeat a retreat
- synonymbeat it
- synonymbeat feet
- synonymblow this popsicle stand
- synonymbolt
- synonymbook it
- synonymdine and dash
- synonymdo a bunk
- synonymdo a flit
- neighborflight
- neighborflow
- neighborfly
- neighborabandon
- neighborescape
- neighborleave
- neighborretreat
- neighborrun
- neighborrush
- neighborwalk
Derived
beflee, everfleeing, fill and flee, fleeable, fleer, outflee, unfleeing
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for flee. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA