FU'GITIVE, adjective [Latin fugitivus, from fugio, to flee. Gr.]

1. Volatile; apt to flee away; readily wafted by the wind.

The more tender and fugitive parts -

2. Not tenable; not to be held or detained; readily escaping; as a fugitive idea.

3. Unstable; unsteady; fleeting; not fixed or durable.

4. Fleeing; running from danger or pursuit.

5. Fleeing from duty; eloping; escaping.

Can a fugitive daughter enjoy herself, while her parents are in tears?

6. Wandering; vagabond; as a fugitive physician.

7. In literature, fugitive compositions are such as are short and occasional, written in haste or at intervals, and considered to be fleeting and temporary.

FU'GITIVE, noun

1. One who fees from his station or duty; a deserter; one who flees from danger.

2. One who has fled or deserted and taken refuge under another power, or one who has fled from punishment.

3. One hard to be caught or detained.

Or catch that airy fugitive called wit.