évader

Évader is a French verb meaning to escape or break out, typically from confinement, such as a prison. It can also be used more broadly to mean evading pursuit or avoiding a situation, a routine, or reality in a figurative sense. The reflexive form s'évader is especially common, as in il s'est évadé de prison or elle s'évade régulièrement du stress en lisant.

Etymology and related forms: Évader comes from the Latin evadere, meaning to go out or to escape, developed in Old French and later into modern French. The noun form for a person who has escaped is un évadé, and the noun for the act of escaping is l'évasion.

Usage notes: In contemporary French, the reflexive form s'évader is the standard way to express escaping from confinement or from daily life. The non-reflexive form évader exists but is far less common and is typically found in more formal or literary contexts, where it may imply causing someone to escape rather than escaping oneself. The word relates to the noun l'évasion, which denotes the act or result of escaping.

Examples:

- Il s'est évadé de prison hier soir.

- Elle s'évade souvent en voyage et en musique.

- Un évadé est une personne qui a quitté clandestinement sa détention.

See also: Évasion (escape), échapper (to escape, to elude), évadé (escaped person).