1
as in to disappear
to cease to be visible
the fog fled with the arrival of the dawn
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
a murderer who fled on foot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to retreat
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flee
Belgian police are hunting for at least two armed men who fled into the Brussels subway system following a shooting near Clémenceau station early Wednesday morning, according to media reports.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
In the southern Mexican city of Villahermosa, the Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter is one of several beneficiaries of U.S. humanitarian assistance to those fleeing persecution, crisis or violence.
—Kimberlee Kruesi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2025
The gunman had already fled when officers arrived at the shooting scene, Police Chief Greg Jones said.
—Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
With the brutality and U.S. support continuing, refugees would continue to flee by sea, landing in South Florida.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flee 
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
In the southern Mexican city of Villahermosa, the Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter is one of several beneficiaries of U.S. humanitarian assistance to those fleeing persecution, crisis or violence.
—Kimberlee Kruesi, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2025
The gunman had already fled when officers arrived at the shooting scene, Police Chief Greg Jones said.
—Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
With the brutality and U.S. support continuing, refugees would continue to flee by sea, landing in South Florida.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for flee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flee
Verb
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But the billionaire heiress disappeared (as Season 2 viewers know).—
Bryan Alexander,
USA TODAY,
18 Feb. 2025
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Afterwards, major characters — especially Pathi, the film’s most intriguing fixture — slowly disappear from the screen without much further inquiry into their interiority, as even potentially gut-churning, violent reveals are relegated to mere implications.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo when an unknown vandal cut open the mesh of his enclosure.—
Kaitlyn Tiffany,
The Atlantic,
15 Feb. 2025
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With Christopher Nkunku dropping deep to receive the ball, Cole Palmer, thanks to Reece James pushing into midfield, escapes the clutches of Carlos Baleba, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood — a situation that rarely came about in the 70 minutes before that — to find space.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
The Athletic,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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With their press broken, Newcastle had to retreat to their 5-4-1 shape but became fatigued making so many recovery runs.—
Liam Tharme,
The Athletic,
16 Feb. 2025
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Three days before Super Bowl LIX, the highest-ranking members of the Chiefs’ front office retreated to their New Orleans hotel rooms and turned on the tape.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Differences of race, religion, your truth, my truth—all of that vanishes.—
Ian Frazier,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
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That story also introduced Packard’s memories of the night his older brother, Nick, vanished after leaving on his snowmobile years earlier.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The demonstrator flew 10 more subsonic flights, then went supersonic for the first time on Jan. 28 of this year.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2025
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Listen to this article A New Jersey man flying from Miami to Newark has been arrested for threatening flight attendants with violence, harassing other passengers and yelling racist slurs while banging on the cockpit door and demanding to see the pilot, federal prosecutors announced Monday.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But that enthusiasm quickly faded as Maximilien Robespierre and Madame de Guillotine took charge.—
Justin Gest,
Newsweek,
11 Feb. 2025
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Signs of the labor market weakening more than expected contributed to that decision at the time, but those fears have since faded.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In the resulting maelstrom, Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and other southern delegates bolted the convention.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2025
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But since Gleyber Torres bolted for the Detroit Tigers, there's still one more significant hole to fill in manager Aaron Boone's infield.—
John Yoo and John Shu,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Police have run into problems where driverless vehicles don’t respond to hand signals from officers directing traffic, and the city has been unable to issue tickets to the vehicles, according to a spokesperson for Austin’s Transportation and Public Works department.—
Chris Kirkham and Abhirup Roy,
USA TODAY,
11 Feb. 2025
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The business also runs a cloud computing service, designs software, and operates a consulting business.—
Ayesha Javed,
TIME,
10 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near flee
Cite this Entry
“Flee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flee. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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