If a government gives a person from another country asylum, they allow them to stay, usually because they are unable to return home safely for political reasons.
He applied for asylum in 1987 after fleeing the police back home.
Synonyms: refuge, security, haven, safety More Synonyms of asylum
2. countable noun
An asylum is a psychiatric hospital.
[old-fashioned]
More Synonyms of asylum
asylum in British English
(əˈsaɪləm)
noun
1.
a safe or inviolable place of refuge, esp as formerly offered by the Christian Church to criminals, outlaws, etc; sanctuary (often in the phrase give asylum to)
2.
shelter; refuge
3. international law
refuge afforded to a person whose extradition is sought by a foreign government
political asylum
4. obsolete
an institution for the shelter, treatment, or confinement of individuals, esp a psychiatric hospital (previously termed lunatic asylum)
Word origin
C15: via Latin from Greek asulon refuge, from asulos that may not be seized, from a-1 + sulon right of seizure
asylum in American English
(əˈsailəm)
noun
1. (esp formerly)
an institution for the maintenance and care of persons requiring specialized assistance, such as orphans or people with mental illnesses
2.
an inviolable refuge, as formerly for criminals and debtors; sanctuary
He sought asylum in the church
3. International Law
a.
a refuge granted an alien by a sovereign state on its own territory
b.
a temporary refuge granted political offenders, esp. in a foreign embassy
4.
any secure retreat
Word origin
[1400–50; late ME; ‹ L ‹ Gk ásȳlon sanctuary, equiv. to a-a-6 + sŷlon right of seizure]
COBUILD Collocations
asylum
claim asylum
Examples of 'asylum' in a sentence
asylum
She is particularly concerned with asylum and mental health issues.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
What country in the world would give him asylum?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They refused to seek asylum in the first country they arrived in.
The Sun (2016)
Many had been freed from prisons or mental asylums.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They are told to ring the coastguard and as soon as they are brought ashore they claim asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
With the help of a lawyer at a charity, they were granted asylum for five years.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Norway received 30,000 asylum seekers last year.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Within five years the judge was in a mental asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
One of my brothers cleaned the rooms in the local mental asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
He was refused asylum but was granted exceptional leave to remain.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He has been granted political asylum there.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
When detected he again claimed asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Her application for asylum was refused.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The country 's asylum system has been clogged by thousands of applications.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Once there, she was given political asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The Convention was addressed to the rights in the country of asylum of those recognised as refugees.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
He also condemns the reduction in benefits given to single asylum seekers to 5 a day.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The company that forced refugees to wear red wristbands to receive meals has been housing asylum seekers in homes with red plaques on the walls.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Below, Money explains the practical implications of offering shelter to an asylum seeker and what the process involves.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There would also be new shelters for 4,000 asylum seekers and 1,500 emergency slots for illegal arrivals who had not sought asylum.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
asylum
British English: asylum /əˈsaɪləm/ NOUN
If a government gives a person from another country asylum, they allow them to stay, usually because they are unable to return home safely for political reasons.
He applied for asylum in 1987.
American English: asylum
Arabic: مَلْجَأ
Brazilian Portuguese: asilo político
Chinese: 庇护
Croatian: azil
Czech: azyl
Danish: asyl
Dutch: asiel
European Spanish: asilo
Finnish: turvapaikka myönnetty
French: asile
German: Asyl
Greek: άσυλο
Italian: asilo politico
Japanese: 亡命
Korean: 보호 시설
Norwegian: asyl
Polish: azyl
European Portuguese: asilo
Romanian: azilpolitic
Russian: убежище
Latin American Spanish: asilo
Swedish: asyl
Thai: ที่ลี้ภัย
Turkish: sığınma
Ukrainian: притулок
Vietnamese: nơi ẩn náu
All related terms of 'asylum'
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who is trying to get asylum in a foreign country.
claim asylum
If a government gives a person from another country asylum , they allow them to stay , usually because they are unable to return home safely for political reasons .
lunatic asylum
A lunatic asylum was a place where mentally disturbed people used to be locked up.
asylum application
An application for something such as a job or membership of an organization is a formal written request for it.
political asylum
Political asylum is the right to live in a foreign country and is given by the government of that country to people who have to leave their own country for political reasons .
right of asylum
the right of alien fugitives to protection or nonextradition in a country or its embassy