seclude
Americanverb (used with object)
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to place in or withdraw into solitude; remove from social contact and activity, etc.
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to isolate; shut off; keep apart.
They secluded the garden from the rest of the property.
verb
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to remove from contact with others
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to shut off or screen from view
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seclude
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin sēclūdere, equivalent to sē- se- + -clūdere, combining form of claudere to close
Explanation
When you seclude someone, you separate them from other people. A Buddhist monk might seclude himself in a remote place to meditate alone for several weeks. Most people use the verb seclude to talk about shutting themselves away from society or keeping themselves separate from others. An eccentric family might seclude itself from the neighbors, for example. The root is Latin, secludere, which means "shut off or confine," from se, "apart" and cludere, "to shut." Originally, seclude was used to mean "to enclose or confine," and by the 1620s it also meant "to keep from public view."
Vocabulary lists containing seclude
Case Closed: Clud, Clus
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se (apart)
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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.
See Examples For:
While some may find the prepackaged meals convenient, she says they encourage people to seclude themselves in their roomettes and discourage one-on-one time with other travelers at the dining table.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2019
“I realised that if I was able to seclude myself and rest, the gentle high would progress into a dreamlike state where I would experience visions,” she writes in Period Power.
From The Guardian ● May 29, 2019
At one point, he suggests that to help make up her mind she go away from London, where they live, and seclude herself in a cottage in Wales.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 22, 2018
She suggested he seclude himself at Yaddo, the artists’ colony in upstate New York.
From New York Times ● Nov. 6, 2017
It was manifestly true that he had no right to seclude her in that fashion.
From Ayala's Angel by Anthony Trollope
On Sunday, the infant swimming resource instructor was swimming along the east shore at Hidden Beach, a secluded public beach within Lake Tahoe-Nevada State Park, she posted on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
MALÉ, Maldives—The white sand beaches, turquoise waters and secluded luxury resorts of this South Asian archipelago attract millions of tourists each year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Over the years, a slew of A-listers have taken their property portfolios to another level by purchasing entire islands, transforming secluded stretches of land into the ultimate celebrity retreats.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
The retreat boasts secluded white sand, dunes, a palm-lined lagoon and multiple beaches, several of which Depp named in honor of people close to him, including his children and former partner Vanessa Paradis.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Air Force ran a series of experiments in a secluded stretch of woods 50 miles from Atlanta, Georgia.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
“So I think it’s going to be very harmful. You’re just shutting down and secluding a group of people that is already so used to being shamed and put in a corner.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
My other concern is people are secluding their lives with people who either think like them or more extreme forms of it.
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2023
“Yep, I’m watching Mr. Eldridge,” one scout says on the phone before secluding himself from earshot.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 12, 2023
Its next resident will find a private dock, tall trees secluding the pool and spa, and “an effortless, single level indoor/outdoor living experience.”
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2022
Thus is supposed to have arisen the custom of secluding the women of the household, which rapidly spread among Ionian peoples, even in Continental Greece.
From Greek Women by Mitchell Carroll
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.
