entflieht

Entfliehen is a German verb meaning to escape or flee, especially from pursuit, danger, or constraint. It conveys breaking away from something undesirable rather than simply moving away. The term appears in both literary and journalistic writing, though it is less common in everyday speech than fliehen.

Origin and formation: Entfliehen is formed with the prefix ent- attached to fliehen (to flee). The prefix adds a sense of release from a binding, threat, or captivity. In present-tense usage, the third-person singular form is entflieht, and the verb follows the standard conjugation pattern of strong verbs such as fliehen.

Usage notes: Entfliehen often refers to escaping from a specific threat, confinement, or pursuit. It can be used with prepositional phrases such as vor + Dativ to indicate what is being escaped, for example, vor der Verfolgung, or with aus + Dativ to indicate the source of confinement, for example aus dem Gefängnis. The choice of construction can subtly affect nuance, with entfliehen tending to emphasize breaking away from a constraint rather than simply moving to safety.

Examples: Der Täter entflieht der Verfolgung. Der Häftling entflieht dem Gefängnis, kann aber später gefasst werden. In historical or literary contexts, entfliehen can convey dramatic or sudden escape.

See also: fliehen, entkommen, ausbrechen.