refém
Portuguese, noun/ʁeˈfẽj̃/
refém is spelled R-E-F-É-M (5 letters) and appears 5.5 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 11,403rd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Refém is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “hostage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “pessoa ou povoação que fica em poder do inimigo como penhor de um contrato”.
What does refém mean in English?
noun
- 1
masculinehostage
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. pessoa ou povoação que fica em poder do inimigo como penhor de um contrato
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of refém
- reféns plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce refém?
- Brazil /ʁeˈfẽj̃/
- Brazil [heˈfẽɪ̯̃]
- /ʁeˈfẽj̃/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to refém
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is refém in Portuguese?
refém appears 5.5 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).