ESCAPE

Pronunciation (US):

• ESCAPE (noun)
  The noun ESCAPE has 8 senses:

1. the act of escaping physically
2. an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy
3. the unwanted discharge of a fluid from some container
4. a valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level
5. nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do
6. an avoidance of danger or difficulty
7. a means or way of escaping
8. a plant originally cultivated but now growing wild

  Familiarity information: ESCAPE used as a noun is common.

• ESCAPE (verb)
  The verb ESCAPE has 7 senses:

1. run away from confinement
2. fail to experience
3. escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action
4. be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by
5. issue or leak, as from a small opening
6. remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion
7. flee; take to one's heels; cut and run

  Familiarity information: ESCAPE used as a verb is common.

• ESCAPE (noun)

Meaning:

The act of escaping physically

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

escape; flight

Context examples:

he made his escape from the mental hospital / the canary escaped from its cage / his flight was an indication of his guilt

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

running away (leaving (without permission) the place you are expected to be)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "escape"):

evasion (the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver)

break; breakout; gaolbreak; jailbreak; prison-breaking; prisonbreak (an escape from jail)

getaway; lam (a rapid escape (as by criminals))

exodus; hegira; hejira (a journey by a large group to escape from a hostile environment)

skedaddle (a hasty flight)

Instance hyponyms:

Hegira; Hejira (the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 which marked the beginning of the Muslim era; the Muslim calendar begins in that year)

Underground Railroad; Underground Railway (secret aid to escaping slaves that was provided by abolitionists in the years before the American Civil War)

Meaning:

An inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

escapism; escape

Context examples:

romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life / his alcohol problem was a form of escapism

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

diversion; recreation (an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates)

Meaning:

The unwanted discharge of a fluid from some container

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

outflow; leakage; escape; leak

Context examples:

they tried to stop the escape of gas from the damaged pipe / he had to clean up the leak

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

discharge; outpouring; run (the pouring forth of a fluid)

Meaning:

A valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler); it opens automatically when the pressure reaches a dangerous level

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

safety valve; relief valve; escape valve; escape cock; escape

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

regulator (any of various controls or devices for regulating or controlling fluid flow, pressure, temperature, etc.)

valve (control consisting of a mechanical device for controlling the flow of a fluid)

Meaning:

Nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

dodging; evasion; escape

Context examples:

his evasion of his clear duty was reprehensible / that escape from the consequences is possible but unattractive

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

carelessness; neglect; negligence; nonperformance (failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "escape"):

circumvention (the act of evading by going around)

goldbricking; goofing off; shirking; slacking; soldiering (the evasion of work or duty)

malingering; skulking (evading duty or work by pretending to be incapacitated)

escape mechanism (a form of behavior that evades unpleasant realities)

Meaning:

An avoidance of danger or difficulty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

that was a narrow escape

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

avoidance; dodging; shunning; turning away (deliberately avoiding; keeping away from or preventing from happening)

Meaning:

A means or way of escaping

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context examples:

hard work was his escape from worry / they installed a second hatch as an escape / their escape route

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

agency; means; way (how a result is obtained or an end is achieved)

Meaning:

A plant originally cultivated but now growing wild

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("escape" is a kind of...):

flora; plant; plant life (a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

• ESCAPE (verb)

Meaning:

Run away from confinement

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

get away; escape; break loose

Context example:

The convicted murderer escaped from a high security prison

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

flee; fly; take flight (run away quickly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "escape"):

escape; get away (remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion)

run away (escape from the control of)

slip (move smoothly and easily)

bilk; elude; evade (escape, either physically or mentally)

escape from; shake; shake off; throw off (get rid of)

break; break away; break out (move away or escape suddenly)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Meaning:

Fail to experience

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

escape; miss

Context example:

Fortunately, I missed the hurricane

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

avoid (stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Meaning:

Escape potentially unpleasant consequences; get away with a forbidden action

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

get away; escape; get by; get off; get out

Context examples:

She gets away with murder! / I couldn't get out from under these responsibilities

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

avoid (stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "escape"):

evade (use cunning or deceit to escape or avoid)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Meaning:

Be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

elude; escape

Context example:

What you are seeing in him eludes me

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

amaze; baffle; beat; bewilder; dumbfound; flummox; get; gravel; mystify; nonplus; perplex; pose; puzzle; stick; stupefy; vex (be a mystery or bewildering to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "escape"):

defy; refuse; resist (elude, especially in a baffling way)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to escape Sue

Meaning:

Issue or leak, as from a small opening

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

Gas escaped into the bedroom

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

come forth; come out; egress; emerge; go forth; issue (come out of)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Meaning:

Remove oneself from a familiar environment, usually for pleasure or diversion

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

get away; escape

Context examples:

We escaped to our summer house for a few days / The president of the company never manages to get away during the summer

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

break loose; escape; get away (run away from confinement)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Meaning:

Flee; take to one's heels; cut and run

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

turn tail; take to the woods; scat; scarper; run away; lam; hightail it; head for the hills; fly the coop; run; bunk; break away; escape

Context examples:

If you see this man, run! / The burglars escaped before the police showed up

Hypernyms (to "escape" is one way to...):

go away; go forth; leave (go away from a place)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "escape"):

flee; fly; take flight (run away quickly)

skedaddle (run away, as if in a panic)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP