refuge

[ref-yooj] / ˈrɛf yudʒ /

NOUN

place to hide, have privacy

Synonyms

STRONGEST

asylum fortress haven hideaway hideout hiding place protection resort retreat sanctuary security shelter stronghold

STRONG

ambush anchorage cover covert den escape exit expedient harbor harborage hole home immunity makeshift opening outlet port preserve recourse resource shield stopgap

WEAK

ivory tower safe place way-out

Antonyms

STRONG

closure entrance permanent solid

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Maybe his family table became your refuge in the year after your wife left you, and no amount of money could ever repay him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Both locations served as a particular kind of refuge, places where I came to new understandings and occasional epiphanies.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Because no herrerasaurians have been discovered elsewhere from such a late point in the Triassic, scientists think the region that is now the American Southwest may have been their final refuge.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

Meghan also visited a women's refuge in Melbourne, where she served plates of frittata to people at the centre.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

It was the twins she should go for—they would be her refuge.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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