The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Refuge \Ref"uge\ (r?f"?j), n. [F. r['e]fuge, L. refugium, fr.
   refugere to flee back; pref. re- + figere. SEe Fugitive.]
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   1. Shelter or protection from danger or distress.
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            Rocks, dens, and caves! But I in none of these
            Find place or refuge.                 --Milton.
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            We might have a strong consolation, who have fled
            for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.
                                                  --Heb. vi. 18.
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   2. That which shelters or protects from danger, or from
      distress or calamity; a stronghold which protects by its
      strength, or a sanctuary which secures safety by its
      sacredness; a place inaccessible to an enemy.
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            The high hills are a refuger the wild goats. --Ps.
                                                  civ. 18.
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            The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed.
                                                  --Ps. ix. 9.
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   3. An expedient to secure protection or defense; a device or
      contrivance.
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            Their latest refuge
            Was to send him.                      --Shak.
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            Light must be supplied, among gracefulrefuges, by
            terracing ??? story in danger of darkness. --Sir H.
                                                  Wotton.
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   Cities of refuge (Jewish Antiq.), certain cities appointed
      as places of safe refuge for persons who had committed
      homicide without design. Of these there were three on each
      side of Jordan. --Josh. xx.

   House of refuge, a charitable institution for giving
      shelter and protection to the homeless, destitute, or
      tempted.
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   Syn: Shelter; asylum; retreat; covert.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Refuge \Ref"uge\ (r?f"?j), v. t.
   To shelter; to protect. [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

refuge
    n 1: a safe place; "He ran to safety" [syn: safety, refuge]
    2: something or someone turned to for assistance or security;
       "his only recourse was the police"; "took refuge in lying"
       [syn: recourse, refuge, resort]
    3: a shelter from danger or hardship [syn: refuge,
       sanctuary, asylum]
    4: act of turning to for assistance; "have recourse to the
       courts"; "an appeal to his uncle was his last resort" [syn:
       recourse, resort, refuge]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

108 Moby Thesaurus words for "refuge":
   alibi, apology, asylum, blind, bolt-hole, cache, citadel, cloak,
   color, concealment, corner, cover, cover story, cover-up, covert,
   coverture, cranny, cubby, cubbyhole, dark corner, defense, den,
   dernier ressort, device, dodge, dugout, evasion, excuse,
   expediency, expedient, eye, facade, feint, foxhole, front,
   funk hole, gloss, guard, guise, handle, harbor, harborage, haven,
   hideaway, hideout, hidey hole, hiding, hiding place, hole,
   immunity, lair, lame excuse, lee, locus standi, makeshift, mask,
   niche, nook, ostensible motive, poor excuse, port, preservation,
   pretense, pretension, pretext, protection, protective custody,
   protestation, public motive, put-off, receipt, receiving,
   reception, recess, recourse, resort, retreat, ruse, safekeeping,
   safety, sanctuary, screen, secret place, security, semblance,
   shade, shadow, sham, shelter, shield, shift, show, smoke screen,
   stalking-horse, stash, stopgap, stratagem, stronghold, substitute,
   subterfuge, taking in, trick, undercovert, varnish, veil,
   watchful eye, welcome, welcoming



The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):

REFUGE, n.  Anything assuring protection to one in peril.  Moses and
Joshua provided six cities of refuge -- Bezer, Golan, Ramoth, Kadesh,
Schekem and Hebron -- to which one who had taken life inadvertently
could flee when hunted by relatives of the deceased.  This admirable
expedient supplied him with wholesome exercise and enabled them to
enjoy the pleasures of the chase; whereby the soul of the dead man was
appropriately honored by observations akin to the funeral games of
early Greece.