escape

Main Entry:: ¹es·cape
Pronunciation:: \is-ˈkāp, es-, dialect iks-ˈkāp\
Function:: verb
Inflected Form(s):: 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 verb1 a: to get away (as by flight) <escaped from prison> b: to issue from confinement <gas is escaping> cof a plant : to run wild from cultivation2: to avoid a threatening evil <the boat sank but the crew escaped>transitive verb1: 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 escapes 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>.

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