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
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 sells anonymous offshore companies that help the owners seclude their business dealings.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2017
The perseverance with which they kept the women from our sight is curious, and leads us to conjecture that the general practice of the island is to seclude the women at all times.
From Account of a Voyage of Discovery to the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-Choo Island by Basil Hall
For this bookstore is also concealing a speakeasy of sorts, a secluded cafe and bar with multiple themed spaces and a two-story tree with glowing books growing out of its branches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
White Bay Cay spans around 25 acres, while the adjacent island adds 7 more acres to Perry’s secluded escape.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Buffered by wealth and social position, Darwin was able to reconcile, like few of his peers, the secluded life of a country squire with the exacting demands of scientific work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
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
It was a secluded location, tucked away in a hidden curve of a walking trail.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
“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
The number of birds, he says, "may be near 500; and the number of fishes, secluding shell-fish, as many: but, if the shell-fish be taken in, more than six times the number."
From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by William MacGillivray
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