Fugitive refers to a person who runs away to avoid being captured or arrested.

// The FBI regularly updates and circulates its list of most wanted fugitives, and asks communities where they might be seen to be careful and on the lookout.

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“The automated plate readers, as they are known, enable authorities to track when vehicles of interest pass through certain intersections. The devices can also be mounted on police cars, allowing officers to sweep up troves of license plate data as they drive around. Police say the gadgets help investigate stolen cars, locate fugitives, and solve crimes by checking who came and went from a neighborhood on any given day.” — Libor Jany, The Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2025

Fugitive entered English as both a noun and an adjective in the 14th century, coming ultimately from the Latin verb fugere, meaning “to flee.” As a noun, it originally referred, as it still does today, to someone who flees a country or location to escape persecution or danger, as from war, making it synonymous with another fugere descendent, refugee. The noun soon expanded beyond those fleeing peril to individuals (such as suspects, witnesses, or defendants) trying to elude law enforcement especially by fleeing the pertinent jurisdiction. The adjective fugitive describes those literally running away or intending flight, but also has multiple figurative uses, being applied to that which is elusive, of short duration, or of transient interest, among other things.