recluse

[ noun rek-loos, ri-kloos; adjective ri-kloos, rek-loos ]
/ noun ˈrɛk lus, rɪˈklus; adjective rɪˈklus, ˈrɛk lus /

noun

a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation.
Also incluse. a religious voluntary immured in a cave, hut, or the like, or one remaining within a cell for life.

adjective re·cluse [ri-kloos, rek-loos] /rɪˈklus, ˈrɛk lus/. Also re·clu·sive.

shut off or apart from the world; living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
characterized by seclusion; solitary.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM recluse

non·re·clu·sive, adjective un·re·cluse, adjective un·re·clu·sive, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for recluse

British Dictionary definitions for recluse

recluse
/ (rɪˈkluːs) /

noun

a person who lives in seclusion
a person who lives in solitude to devote himself to prayer and religious meditation; a hermit, anchorite, or anchoress

adjective

solitary; retiring

Derived forms of recluse

reclusion (rɪˈkluːʒən), noun reclusive, adjective

Word Origin for recluse

C13: from Old French reclus, from Late Latin reclūdere to shut away, from Latin re- + claudere to close