I. is-ˈkāp, es-, dialect iks-ˈkāp verb
( es·caped ; es·cap·ing )
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin * excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak
Date: 13th century
intransitive verb
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
the boat sank but the crew escaped
transitive verb
1. : to get free of : break away from
escape the jungle
escape the solar system
2. : to get or stay out of the way of : avoid
efforts to escape poverty
3. : to fail to be noticed or recallable by
his name escape s me
4.
a. : to issue from
a smile escaped me
b. : to be uttered involuntarily by
a sigh of relief escaped her
• es·cap·er noun
Synonyms:
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
II. noun
Date: 14th century
1. : an act or instance of escaping: as
a. : flight from confinement
b. : evasion of something undesirable
c. : leakage or outflow especially of a fluid
d. : distraction or relief from routine or reality
2. : a means of escape
3. : a cultivated plant run wild
III. adjective
Date: 1817
1. : providing a means of escape
escape literature
2. : providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment
an escape clause in a contract