refugee vs runaway

refugee

noun
  • A person who flees one place or institution for another. 

  • A person seeking refuge due to a natural disaster, war, etc. 

  • A person seeking refuge in a foreign country out of fear of political persecution or the prospect of such persecution in their home country, i.e., a person seeking political asylum. 

  • A person formally granted political or economic asylum by a country other than their home country. 

verb
  • To convey (slaves) away from the advance of the federal forces. 

runaway

noun
  • A person or animal that runs away or has run away; a person, animal, or organization that escapes captivity or restrictions. 

  • An overwhelming victory. 

  • An object or process that is out of control or out of equilibrium. 

  • A vehicle (especially, a train) that is out of control. 

  • The act of running away, especially of a horse or teams. 

adj
  • Having escaped from the control of the rider or driver. 

  • Unchecked; rampant. 

  • Having run away; escaped; fugitive. 

  • Deserting or revolting against one's group, duties, expected conduct, or the like, especially to establish or join a rival group, change one's life drastically, etc. 

  • Accelerating out of control. 

  • Easily won, as a contest. 

  • Pertaining to or accomplished by running away or eloping. 

How often have the words refugee and runaway occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )