I. ˈfyüjəd.iv, -ətiv adjective
Etymology: Middle English fugitif, fugitive, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French fugitif, from Latin fugitivus, from fugere to run away, flee; akin to Greek pheugein to run away, flee, Lithuanian baugus timorous, and probably to Old High German biogan to bend — more at bow
1. : running away or intending flight (as from an enemy, a master, duty, or justice) : fleeing
a fugitive slave
a fugitive debtor
the new note served notice that neither the fugitive … diplomat nor his wife would be handed over — Wall Street Journal
2. : moving from place to place : wandering
a fugitive theatrical company
the fugitive clouds of the sky — K.K.Darrow
3.
a. : being of short duration : fleeting
the journalist … is concerned only with the fugitive moment — A.L.Guérard
b. : difficult to grasp or retain : elusive
thought is clear or muddy, graspable or fugitive , according to the purity of the medium — J.M.Barzun
c. : likely to evaporate : volatile
fugitive elements escape from the magma in rock crystallization
d. : likely to deteriorate : perishable
a great deal of valuable material is mounted on fugitive cardboard — All The King's Horses
e. : subject to change : not fixed
its membership is fugitive but the institution … requires continuity — O.W.Phelps
specifically : fading when exposed to light
many of these dyes … are so fugitive to light that dyed material if left uncovered in a mill room during a weekend … may be found to have faded — C.M.Whittaker & C.C.Wilcock
f. : likely to disappear or fall away ; specifically : not permanently established — used especially of a botanical species
4.
a. : scattered , infrequent , occasional
he has only to collect his fugitive pieces to have … a book of deep significance — T.V.Smith
b. : being of transient interest : ephemeral
the press ranges from the superficiality of fragmentary items in the most fugitive tabloid to the rich fare of the New York Times — William Albig
Synonyms: see transient
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English fugitif, fugitive, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French fugitif, from Latin fugitivus, from fugitivus, adjective
1. : one who flees or tries to escape: as
a. : one who runs away from a master or employer or from uncongenial surroundings
a fugitive from a sweatshop — A.E.Stevenson b.1900
b. : one who tries to elude justice
surrender of the fugitive for trial — R.G.Neumann
c. : one who flees or is forced to leave his country : exile , refugee
for the doubtful benefit of the political fugitive — Alona Evans
2. : one who goes from place to place usually without a fixed purpose or direction : wanderer
3. : something elusive or hard to find
what muse but his can nature's beauties hit, or catch that airy fugitive called wit — Walter Harte
4.
a. : a dye that is not fast
b. : an article colored with such a dye
cotton fugitives are simply dyed with alkali and common salt — G.H.Johnson