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Refuge vs Respite - What's the difference?

refuge | respite |

As nouns the difference between refuge and respite

is that refuge is a state of safety, protection or shelter while respite is a brief interval of rest or relief.

As verbs the difference between refuge and respite

is that refuge is to return to a place of shelter while respite is to delay or postpone.

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.
  • ----

    respite

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A brief interval of rest or relief.
  • * Denham
  • Some pause and respite only I require.
  • * Shakespeare
  • I crave but four day's respite .
  • *, chapter=10
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite , and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
  • * 2013 May 23, (Sarah Lyall), " British Leader’s Liberal Turn Sets Off a Rebellion in His Party," New York Times (retrieved 29 May 2013):
  • Mr. Cameron had a respite Thursday from the negative chatter swirling around him when he appeared outside 10 Downing Street to denounce the murder a day before of a British soldier on a London street.
  • (legal) A reprieve, especially from a sentence of death.
  • (legal) The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.
  • Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To delay or postpone.