recluse
Americannoun
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a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation.
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Also a religious voluntary immured in a cave, hut, or the like, or one remaining within a cell for life.
adjective
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shut off or apart from the world; living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
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characterized by seclusion; solitary.
noun
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a person who lives in seclusion
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a person who lives in solitude to devote himself to prayer and religious meditation; a hermit, anchorite, or anchoress
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of recluse
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French reclus < Late Latin reclūsus, past participle of reclūdere to shut up, equivalent to re- re- + -clūd-, combining form of claudere to close + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s
Explanation
A recluse lives alone, works alone, eats alone, and generally stays away from other people. Anti-social old hermits are recluses, as are a lot of students during exam time. In the early 13th century, a recluse was a person who shut out the world to go meditate on religious issues. But nowadays recluses can think about whatever they want while they're sitting in solitude — they're simply people who shy away from social interaction and live secluded lives. Or think of the Brown Recluse spider, who likes to hide out in dark old boots or undisturbed corners of the basement.
Vocabulary lists containing recluse
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Recluse, genius, rebel, muse — a multitude of Emily Brontës crowd the cultural imagination.
From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2023
Robert Chambers is a designer at the Social Recluse clothing shop on King Street in the Trongate area of the city.
From BBC • Aug. 4, 2022
Recluse, buffoon, Marcia, Bason, Pym encompasses the range of human behavior.
From Washington Post • Jun. 14, 2022
Image: Bungie Hello Recluse 2.0 Image: Bungie Alongside the exotic weapons, we also get a closer look at the new Glaive weapons that will appear in The Witch Queen.
From The Verge • Feb. 1, 2022
I’d given up on the idea that Detective Barrone was capable of stopping the Recluse.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
