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Refuge vs Harbor - What's the difference?

refuge | harbor |

In lang=en terms the difference between refuge and harbor

is that refuge is to return to a place of shelter while harbor is to hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.

As nouns the difference between refuge and harbor

is that refuge is a state of safety, protection or shelter while harbor is a sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may dock or anchor, especially for loading and unloading.

As verbs the difference between refuge and harbor

is that refuge is to return to a place of shelter while harbor is to provide a harbor or safe place for.

refuge

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A state of safety, protection or shelter.
  • * Milton
    • Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these / Find place or refuge .
  • A place providing safety, protection or shelter.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}
  • Something or someone turned to for safety or assistance; a recourse or resort.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 21, author=Helen Pidd, work=the Guardian
    • , title= Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis , passage=Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world.}}
  • An expedient to secure protection or defence.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Their latest refuge / Was to send him.

    Synonyms

    * haven * sanctuary * zoar

    Derived terms

    * refugee * refugium

    Verb

    (refug)
  • To return to a place of shelter.
  • * 2011 , Michael D. Gumert, ?Agustín Fuentes, ?Lisa Jones-Engel, Monkeys on the Edge
    • Among these macaques, although activity cycles are quite variable from location to location, refuging is a common characteristic.
  • (obsolete) To shelter; to protect.
    • ----

    harbor

    English

    Alternative forms

    * harbour (Commonwealth) * herberwe (obsolete) * herborough (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may dock or anchor, especially for loading and unloading.
    • A harbor''', even if it is a little '''harbor , is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return -
  • Any place of shelter.
    • The neighborhood is a well-known harbor for petty thieves.

    Derived terms

    * harborage * harbormaster * harbor seal * safe harbor

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To provide a harbor or safe place for.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
    • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.}}
  • To take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water.
  • To hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.

    • See also

    * haven * dock

    References

    * * * * * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary , 1987-1996.