[es.cape] vb es.caped ; es.cap.ing [ME, fr. ONF escaper, fr. (assumed) VL excappare, fr. L ex- + LL cappa head covering, cloak] vi (13c) 1 a: to get away (as by flight) "escaped from prison" b: to issue from confinement "gas is escaping" c of a plant: to run wild from cultivation
2: to avoid a threatening evil ~ vt 1: to get free of: break away from "~ the jungle" "~ the solar system"
2: to get or stay out of the way of: avoid
3: to fail to be noticed or recallable by "his name ~s me"
4. a: to issue from b: to be uttered involuntarily by -- es.cap.er n syn escape, avoid, evade, elude, shun, eschew mean to get away or keep away from something. escape stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent "nothing escapes her sharp eyes". avoid stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of danger or difficulty "try to avoid past errors". evade implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding "evaded the question by changing the subject". elude implies a slippery or baffling quality in the person or thing that escapes "what she sees in him eludes me". shun often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policy and may imply repugnance or abhorrence "you have shunned your responsibilities". eschew implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwise or distasteful "a playwright who eschews melodrama".
[2]escape n (14c) 1: an act or instance of escaping: as a: flight from confinement b: evasion of something undesirable c: leakage or outflow esp. of a fluid d: distraction or relief from routine or reality
2: a means of escape
3: a cultivated plant run wild [3]escape adj (1817) 1: providing a means of escape "~ literature"
2: providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment "an ~ clause in a contract"