asylum
/əˈsaɪləm/ noun, verb
Forms asylums asyla asyluming asylumed
- noun A place of safety or refuge.
- noun (uncountable) The protection, physical and legal, afforded by such a place (as, for example, for political refugees).
- noun (dated) A place of protection or restraint for one or more classes of the disadvantaged, especially the mentally ill.
- verb to place in an asylum
- verb to grant protection or refuge
Synonyms
sanctuary shelter refuge mental hospital psychiatric hospital mental institution institution mental home insane asylum
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin asȳlum, borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄσυλον (ásulon).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “asylum”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details