0 a person who is running away or hiding from the police or a dangerous situation:
1 (especially of thoughts or feelings) lasting for only a short time:
a fugitive impression
2 relating to a fugitive:
Motivated by the need for more settlers, they turned a blind eye to fugitives' illegal status and permitted them to settle.
The gamble paid off as huge audiences came to antislavery meetings to hear the chilling and compelling stories of recently escaped fugitives.
Then again, compared to their male counterparts, fewer female fugitives appeared and spoke at abolitionists' lecture series.
Although nothing ever came of this, it is interesting that the fugitives would have been arrested in such a high profile manner.
Rather, documents described workers as fugitives (taowang) or as having stealthily absconded (qiantao).
Shepherds were not permitted to quit, and if they 'absconded', they became fugitives.
To this end they repeatedly urged the government to return fugitives to their cities, and to abolish the immunities enjoyed by church and noble land in and around the cities.
Given this situation their only option was to become fugitives on their own land, which as mentioned earlier, had adverse consequences for the future claims on land.