recluse Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun one who lives in solitude
    solitary; troglodyte; solitudinarian; hermit.
  2. adjective satellite withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
    reclusive; withdrawn.
    • lived an unsocial reclusive life

WordNet

Re*cluse" adjective
Etymology
L. reclus, L. reclusus, from recludere, reclusum, to unclose, open, in LL., to shut up. See Close.
Definitions
  1. Shut up, sequestered; retired from the world or from public notice; solitary; living apart; as, a recluse monk or hermit; a recluse life
    In meditation deep, recluse From human converse. J. Philips.
Re*cluse" noun
Etymology
F. reclus, LL. reclusus. See Recluse, a.
Definitions
  1. A person who lives in seclusion from intercourse with the world, as a hermit or monk; specifically, one of a class of secluded devotees who live in single cells; usually attached to monasteries.
  2. The place where a recluse dwells. Obs. Foxe.
Re*cluse" transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To shut; to seclude. Obs.

Webster 1913