Fugitive

 WORD OF THE DAY

fugitive / noun / FYOO-juh-tiv

Definition
1a: a person who flees or tries to escape
1b: a person who flees a country or location to escape danger (such as war) or persecution
1c: REFUGEE
1d: a person (such as a suspect, witness, or defendant) involved in a criminal case who tries to elude law enforcement especially by fleeing the jurisdiction
2: something elusive or hard to find

Examples
"Subsequent to Hopkins' arrest, an arrest warrant for his mother … was issued on July 9, 2021 for harboring a fugitive from justice."
— Kathleen Guill, The Frederick (Oklahoma) Press-Leader, 13 Jul. 2021

As he daydreamed, fugitive thoughts passed through his mind.

Did You Know?
Fugitive was adopted into English as both a noun and an adjective in the 14th century. Both forms came to Middle English by way of Middle French from the Latin adjective fugitivus.
Fugitivus, in turn, comes from fugitus, the past participle of the verb fugere, meaning "to flee."
Since its adoption, the noun fugitive has been used to identify a motley group of individuals: runaway slaves and soldiers, on-the-run criminals, exiles, refugees, and vagabonds.
Eventually, it also developed a less commonly used extended sense for things which are difficult to find or pin down.