1
as in disappearing
to cease to be visible
the fog fled with the arrival of the dawn
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in escaping
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
a murderer who fled on foot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in retreating
to hasten away from something dangerous or frightening
a toddler who fled when the ladybug he had been quietly watching suddenly began flying around the room
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 fleeing
Bolda’s journey, from fleeing Azerbaijan as a child and resettling in Germany with no money or language, to becoming a teacher and financial mentor, illustrates how mastering money is not only about stability.
—
Alain Hunkins, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Claire was secretly pregnant with Byron’s child, and Byron himself was fleeing rumors of an incestuous relationship with his half-sister.
—Thomas Page McBee, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2025
The civil suit alleges McNutt's civil rights were violated and cites negligence on behalf of the city, Milwaukee Police Department officer Seng Xiong and former officer Lauren Marowsky, and Justin Ellis, the driver in the car fleeing police.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 16 Sep. 2025
In six months, the site has grown from 600 people fleeing gang attacks in nearby Delmas 30 to 5,000 people from all over the capital, sheltering in packed government offices and makeshift shacks.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Residing in London after fleeing Mexico City during the Second Franco-Mexican war, Gabriela is no longer content to wait for her father to inevitably summon her home now that the tide of the war is changing in Mexico’s favor.
—Mia Sosa, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
In this image made from pool video footage, Nicholas Rossi, who is accused of faking his death and fleeing to Europe to avoid rape charges, appears at a jury trial in Salt Lake City on August 11, 2025.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
He is accused of climbing onto a rooftop at Utah Valley University and shooting and killing Kirk from about 200 yards away before fleeing into a neighborhood and making his way home to Washington, Utah.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Additional footage from cameras in the area shows Sims fleeing through a McDonald’s parking lot in the area, heading north on Broadway to an apartment building.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Alain Hunkins, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Claire was secretly pregnant with Byron’s child, and Byron himself was fleeing rumors of an incestuous relationship with his half-sister.
—Thomas Page McBee, Travel + Leisure, 16 Sep. 2025
The civil suit alleges McNutt's civil rights were violated and cites negligence on behalf of the city, Milwaukee Police Department officer Seng Xiong and former officer Lauren Marowsky, and Justin Ellis, the driver in the car fleeing police.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 16 Sep. 2025
In six months, the site has grown from 600 people fleeing gang attacks in nearby Delmas 30 to 5,000 people from all over the capital, sheltering in packed government offices and makeshift shacks.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Residing in London after fleeing Mexico City during the Second Franco-Mexican war, Gabriela is no longer content to wait for her father to inevitably summon her home now that the tide of the war is changing in Mexico’s favor.
—Mia Sosa, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
In this image made from pool video footage, Nicholas Rossi, who is accused of faking his death and fleeing to Europe to avoid rape charges, appears at a jury trial in Salt Lake City on August 11, 2025.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
He is accused of climbing onto a rooftop at Utah Valley University and shooting and killing Kirk from about 200 yards away before fleeing into a neighborhood and making his way home to Washington, Utah.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Additional footage from cameras in the area shows Sims fleeing through a McDonald’s parking lot in the area, heading north on Broadway to an apartment building.
—Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleeing
Verb
-
Under her leadership, the NYBG’s research team has expanded to 81 projects across 79 countries to conserve disappearing plant species, restore degraded ecosystems, and breed crops to withstand drought, sea level rise and extreme heat under climate change.—
Eduardo Garcia,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
-
All perfumes pull a disappearing act at some point during the day, but Coty has figured out a way to make their fragrances less fleeting.—
Megan McIntyre,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In that film, Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a real-life career criminal known for escaping from prison several times and for committing a string of audacious bank robberies well into his later years.—
Hannah Parry
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The Earth saw a strong geomagnetic storm Sunday night, NOAA reported, reaching a G3 (on a scale of 5) due to the impact of solar winds escaping from a cooler, dense region of the Sun.—
Zachary Folk,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
With a signature bright plum lip and highlight in her hair, Williams, 61, kept her people close but didn't shy away from the camera, allowing the fashion week photogs to capture her for a solid 15 minutes before retreating to one of the presentation's regal showrooms.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
-
That is because buyers have been retreating from the market due to ongoing affordability issues, including still-rising home prices, historically elevated mortgage rates, and growing economic concern linked to government policies.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Demerzel shields the embryo with her body, and both are incinerated, vanishing in a white-hot instant, love and code consumed together.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Grey’s son, Loren Grey, restored his father’s original ending in the novel’s 1982 Pocket Books reprint, but the vanishing mythos remains intact, with the last of the tribe wistfully following Curtis’s Navajo into the temporal graveyard of the past.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The final result needed to be invisible, weightless, scentless, and makeup-gripping, all of which were achieved with flying colors—actually, with no color at all since the formula is completely clear on all skin tones.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Before flying, check your airline’s website for more details on what’s allowed.—
Jessie Beck,
AFAR Media,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This does not mean bolting on new features to your existing products, nor hiring an AI person here or there.—
Barry Libert,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
As reports from the Ukraine war show, taking a drone and bolting a Claymore mine to it isn't new.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
But with its novelty fading and political scrutiny mounting, its long-term future in America is far from secure.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The sturdy plastic housings resist fading and cracking and are brown in color to blend with most outdoor surfaces.—
Miles Walls,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Hochul is running for a second term as New York’s governor.—
Lauren Green,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Traditional shoe testing depends on athletes running multiple sessions across weeks to produce a usable dataset.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fleeing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleeing. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share