flüchtigen

Flüchtigen is a German term that can serve two related but distinct roles in speech and writing. It is the inflected form of the adjective flüchtig, meaning fleeting, temporary, or volatile, and it also appears as a noun when capitalized as Flüchtige/Flüchtiger to denote a person who flees.

As an adjective, flüchtig describes things that do not last long or occur briefly. The form flüchtigen appears in various cases and genders, for example die flüchtigen Stoffe (the volatile substances), die flüchtigen Erinnerungen (the fleeting memories), or einen flüchtigen Blick (a fleeting glance). The usage is common in science, literature, and everyday language to convey impermanence or volatility.

As a noun, Flüchtige (or the masculine form Flüchtiger, the feminine form Flüchtige) refers to a person who flees or escapes, i.e., a fugitive. In English, this is similar to “fugitive.” The plural is Flüchtige or Flüchtige, with declension dependent on grammatical case. In legal or media contexts, the term may appear in phrases like “ein Flüchtiger” or plural “die Flüchtigen,” always describing someone avoiding capture or pursuit.

The term is unrelated to Flüchtling, which means refugee, or to Flucht, meaning flight or escape in a more general sense. Etymologically, flüchtig derives from the verb fliehen (to flee), capturing the idea of something that passes quickly or a person who leaves hurriedly when used as an adjective or noun.