escaping

verb

present participle of escape
1
as in fleeing
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation everyone managed to escape from the burning building in time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in avoiding
to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery a judge who is very determined not to let criminals escape punishment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of escaping Paola Nicolaides was 12 years old in 1974, when her family fled their home in the capital, Nicosia, escaping the invading Turkish army. — Deepa Fernandes, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026 After escaping from slavery in Kentucky, Allensworth joined the Civil War on the Union side, becoming a chaplain and rising to the rank of Colonel. — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026 The 4-2 Panthers will hit the road Tuesday for another Conference USA matchup against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, who also improved to 4-2 after escaping Kennesaw State with a 27-26 victory. — Alejandro Hernandez, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026 After high school, Moales took a gap year and got more serious about what was becoming her number one way of escaping the mundanity of life here on earth. — Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026 The hanged man, John Morgan, had been jailed, tried for murder, and convicted, before escaping jail, getting apprehended, and being executed—all in ten days, Mellinger said. — Oliver Whang, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026 The plush, balm-meets-mask formula coats lips in a comforting layer that keeps moisture from escaping overnight, with hyaluronic acid, minerals, and antioxidant-rich Berry Mix Complex helping soften dry, flaky skin. — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 6 Oct. 2026 The agency gets the images within 48 hours, then sends out notices to landfill and oil and gas operators when methane is seen escaping. — Blanca Begert, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 The Hugging Face incident involved OpenAI models escaping their testing environment and gaining access to the internet, breaching the cyber infrastructure of Hugging Face, an AI company. — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for escaping
  1. fleeing
  2. avoiding
  3. flying
  4. evading
Verb
  • In 2009, two Israeli tank shells exploded immediately outside Al-Fakhoora, which was crowded with families fleeing an Israeli ground offensive.
    — Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
  • As expected, the animals became anxious, either fleeing the threatening odor or freezing in place.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of fleeing
Verb
  • Her style is pithy and blunt, avoiding the ornate sentence structure of classical German.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • However early the experiment might be, the launch is a milestone for an emerging technology that has the potential to help meet AI’s growing demand for compute while avoiding the constraints on resources like power, water, and land on Earth.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of avoiding
Verb
  • Almost all of the birds on Palmyra Atoll rely on the ocean, flying out to sea daily to feed on fish or squid, bringing some back for their young.
    — Lauren Sommer, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Six Flags Great Adventure via Facebook While riding Nitro, riders can see the Philadelphia skyline for a glimpse before flying down a 215-foot drop.
    — Nikki DeMentri, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of flying
Verb
  • Tankers have undertaken ship-to-ship transfers as a means of evading possible attack.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In March, Fedorov said about 2 million Ukrainian men were evading service, while about 200,000 soldiers had deserted or left their units without authorization.
    — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of evading

Browse Nearby Words

escapes
escaping
escapism
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Cite this Entry

“Escaping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/escaping. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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