Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Fugitive

Fugitive , adjective

[Old English fugitif, French fugitif, from Latin fugitivus, from fugere to flee. See Bow to bend, and compare Feverfew.]

1.
Fleeing from pursuit, danger, restraint, etc., escaping, from service, duty etc.; as, a fugitive solder; a fugitive slave; a fugitive debtor.
The fugitive Parthians follow. — Shakespeare
Can a fugitive daughter enjoy herself while her parents are in tear? — Richardson
A libellous pamphlet of a fugitive physician. — Sir H. Wotton
2.
Not fixed; not durable; liable to disappear or fall away; volatile; uncertain; evanescent; liable to fade; -- applied to material and immaterial things; as, fugitive colors; a fugitive idea.
The me more tender and fugitive parts, the leaves... of vegatables. — Woodward
Collocations (1)
Fugitive compositions , Such as are short and occasional, and so published that they quickly escape notice.

Fugitive , noun

1.
One who flees from pursuit, danger, restraint, service, duty, etc.; a deserter; as, a fugitive from justice.
2.
Something hard to be caught or detained.
Or Catch that airy fugitive called wit. — Harte
Collocations (1)
Fugitive from justice (Law) , one who, having committed a crime in one jurisdiction, flees or escapes into another to avoid punishment.