recluse

[n. rek-loos, ri-kloos; adj. ri-kloos, rek-loos] /n. ˈrɛk lus, rɪˈklus; adj. rɪˈklus, ˈrɛk lus/
noun
1.
a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation.
2.
Also, incluse. a religious voluntary immured in a cave, hut, or the like, or one remaining within a cell for life.
adjective, recluse, Also, reclusive
3.
shut off or apart from the world; living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
4.
characterized by seclusion; solitary.
Origin
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
Related forms
nonreclusive, adjective
unrecluse, adjective
unreclusive, adjective
Examples from the web for recluse
  • Her life, lived as a half recluse, gave rise to all sorts of stories concerning her.
  • The penitential austerities which she practised, were such as seemed rather to suit a recluse than one who lived in a court.
  • If they have any idea of his subsequent life, it's probably that he became a recluse.
  • The recluse witnesses what others perform by their aid with a kind of fear.
  • OF course he had to be mentally committed to an asylum and lived life as a recluse later in life.
  • The affliction had turned her into a virtual recluse.
  • Brown recluse spiders can be more difficult to spot.
  • Brown recluse spiders, as their name suggest, are shy and secretive creatures.
  • The brown recluse is brown with a lighter violin pattern on the back.
British Dictionary definitions for recluse

recluse

/rɪˈkluːs/
noun
1.
a person who lives in seclusion
2.
a person who lives in solitude to devote himself to prayer and religious meditation; a hermit, anchorite, or anchoress
adjective
3.
solitary; retiring
Derived Forms
reclusion (rɪˈkluːʒən) noun
reclusive, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French reclus, from Late Latin reclūdere to shut away, from Latin re- + claudere to close
Word Origin and History for recluse
n.

c.1200, "person shut up from the world for purposes of religious meditation," from Old French reclus (fem. recluse) "hermit, recluse," also "confinement, prison; convent, monastery," noun use of reclus (adj.) "shut up," from Late Latin reclusus, past participle of recludere "to shut up, enclose" (but in classical Latin "to throw open"), from Latin re-, intensive prefix, + claudere "to shut" (see close (v.)).