hermit

American  

[hur-mit] / ˈhɜr mɪt /

noun

1. a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

   Synonyms:

   cenobite, anchorite, monastic, eremite

2. any person living in seclusion; recluse.

3. Zoology. an animal of solitary habits.

4. Ornithology. any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.

5. a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.

6. Obsolete. a beadsman.

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hermit British  

/ ˈhɜːmɪt /

noun

1. one of the early Christian recluses

2. any person living in solitude

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Other Word Forms

• hermit-like adjective
• hermitic adjective
• hermitical adjective
• hermitically adverb
• hermitish adjective
• hermitlike adjective
• hermitry noun
• hermitship noun
• unhermitic adjective
• unhermitical adjective
• unhermitically adverb

Etymology

Origin of hermit

1175–1225; Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite < Old French < Late Latin erēmīta < Greek erēmītḗs living in a desert, equivalent to erḗm ( ia ) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Suddenly the lines about needing a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit came so much more alive from the endless horizon atop a watchtower.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m a little bit of a hermit, and just wanted some more trees and a little more space,” Nancherla says.

From Los Angeles Times

There are no desert hermits in our tradition, only moms and dads tending home fires.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sadly he climbed out of the barrel, like a hermit crab being evicted from a favorite shell.

From Literature

Just then, a hermit crab came scuttling over.

From Literature

Related Words

• recluse