noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ɪˈskeɪpɪzəm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:IH0 S K EY1 P IH2 Z AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
An inclination to escape from routine or reality into fantasy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A genre of book, film etc. that one uses to indulge this tendency.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The performance of an escape artist.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
an inclination to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
romantic novels were her escape from the stress of daily life
his alcohol problem was a form of escapism
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: escape
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: diversion, recreation
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English escape Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English escapism From escape + -ism.
Across languages
Translations
29 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
هُرُوب مِن الوَاقِعِ
(hurūb min al-wāqiʕi)
— inclination to escape
Arabic:
تَهْرُبِيَّة
(tahrubiyya)
— inclination to escape
Bulgarian:
ескапизъм
(eskapizǎm)
— inclination to escape
Catalan:
escapisme
— inclination to escape
Danish:
eskapisme
— inclination to escape
Finnish:
todellisuuspakoisuus
— inclination to escape
Finnish:
eskapismi
— inclination to escape
French:
escapisme
— inclination to escape
German:
Eskapismus
— inclination to escape
German:
Wirklichkeitsflucht
— inclination to escape
German:
Realitätsflucht
— inclination to escape
German:
Entfliehung aus dem Alltag
— inclination to escape
German:
Flucht aus der Wirklichkeit
— inclination to escape
Hungarian:
eszképizmus
— inclination to escape
Hungarian:
menekülés a nyomasztó valóság elől
— inclination to escape
Japanese:
現実逃避
(genjitsu tōhi)
— inclination to escape
Macedonian:
ескепизам
(eskepizam)
— inclination to escape
Maltese:
Eskejpizmu
— inclination to escape
Occitan:
escapisme
— inclination to escape
Polish:
eskapizm
— inclination to escape
Portuguese:
escapismo
— inclination to escape
Punjabi:
ਭਾਂਜਵਾਦ
(bhāñjvād)
— inclination to escape
Russian:
эскапизм
(eskapizm)
— inclination to escape
Serbo-Croatian:
eskapizam
— inclination to escape
Spanish:
escapismo
— inclination to escape
Swedish:
eskapism
— inclination to escape
Turkish:
gerçeklerden kaçma
— inclination to escape
Ukrainian:
ескапізм
(eskapizm)
— inclination to escape