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Definition of refugee noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

refugee

noun
 
/ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/
 
/ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/
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  1. a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons
    • There has been a steady flow of refugees from the war zone.
    • political/economic refugees
    • political refugees
    • a refugee camp
    Collocations ImmigrationImmigration
    • apply for/​gain/​obtain/​be granted/​be denied citizenship
    • seek/​claim/​request/​be granted/​be refused/​be denied asylum
    • have/​hold dual citizenship/​nationality
    • assist/​welcome/​accept refugees/​new immigrants
    • house/​resettle/​accommodate refugees/​asylum seekers
    • employ/​hire/​use migrant workers
    • rely on/​exploit/​use immigrant/​migrant labour
    • control/​curb/​restrict/​limit/​deter/​discourage immigration/​migration
    • illegal/​uncontrolled/​mass immigration
    • smuggle/​traffic people into the country/​across the border
    • detain/​deport/​repatriate/​expel illegal immigrants/​migrants
    Synonyms immigrantimmigrantmigrant refugee asylum seeker expatriateThese words all describe people who have moved to a different country. immigrant a person who has either chosen or been forced to leave their country and come to live permanently in a different country:
    • immigrants from other European countries
    migrant a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions:
    • The country has a large seasonal migrant population.
    refugee a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons:
    • There has been a steady flow of refugees from the war zone.
    asylum seeker a person who has been forced to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country asking to be allowed to stay there:
    • to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers
    expatriate a person living in a country that is not their own, usually by choice:
    • American expatriates in Paris
    immigrant, migrant, refugee or asylum seeker?An immigrant has either chosen or been forced to leave their own country and move to another. A refugee has been forced to leave their own country. An asylum seeker has been forced to leave their own country and has arrived in another country asking to be allowed to stay. A migrant moves to another country, or within their own country, especially to find work or better living conditions. Patterns
    • economic/skilled migrants
    • illegal/undocumented immigrants/​migrants
    • political refugees
    Extra Examples
    • A flood of displaced refugees fled west.
    • Our biggest challenge is the plight of refugees at our southern border.
    • Hundreds of refugees poured out of the city.
    • These are some of the most vulnerable refugees, including former detainees, women, children, and survivors of human trafficking.
    • The country has a long tradition of giving asylum to political refugees.
    • The government has agreed to take only 150 refugees plus their dependants.
    • She has been granted refugee status.
    • The Home Office has refused him refugee status.
    • He was born in a refugee camp.
    • ‘We are in a global refugee crisis,’ she said.
    • They raised money to help a refugee family be resettled in Cornwall.
    • It is feared that climate change will produce environmental refugees on a massive scale.
    • a new influx of refugees from the combat zone
    • refugees displaced by the civil war
    • refugees fleeing political persecution
    • refugees from civil wars
    • refugees living in camps along the border
    • Several thousand refugees are reported to have fled to the eastern border.
    Topics War and conflictb2, Social issuesb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • genuine
    • would-be
    • former
    verb + refugee
    • qualify as
    • be considered (as)
    • accept
    refugee + verb
    • flee something
    • be displaced
    • arrive
    refugee + noun
    • crisis
    • issue
    • problem
    preposition
    • among refugee
    • refugee from
    phrases
    • a flood of refugees
    • a influx of refugees
    • the flow of refugees
    See full entry
    Word Originlate 17th cent.: from French réfugié ‘gone in search of refuge’, past participle of (se) réfugier, from refuge, from Latin refugium, from Latin re- ‘back’ + fugere ‘flee’.
See refugee in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee refugee in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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