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⇱ recluse - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

recluse

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/rɪˈkluːs/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/n. ˈrɛklus, rɪˈklus; adj. rɪˈklus, ˈrɛklus/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(n. rek′lo̅o̅s, ri klo̅o̅s′; adj. ri klo̅o̅s′, rek′lo̅o̅s)



WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
rec•luse /n. ˈrɛklus, rɪˈklus; adj. rɪˈklus, ˈrɛklus/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. a person who deliberately lives apart from society.

adj. re•cluse. 
  1. shut off or apart from the world.
re•clu•sive /rɪˈklusɪv/USA pronunciation  adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
rec•luse  (n. rek′lo̅o̅s, ri klo̅o̅s′;adj. ri klo̅o̅s′, rek′lo̅o̅s),USA pronunciation n. 
  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.

adj. re•cluse. Also, re•clu′sive. 
  1. shut off or apart from the world;
    living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
  2. characterized by seclusion;
    solitary.
  • 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
  • Old French reclus
  • Middle English 1175–1225

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
recluse /rɪˈkluːs/ n
  1. a person who lives in seclusion
  2. a person who lives in solitude to devote himself or herself to prayer and religious meditation; a hermit, anchorite, or anchoress
 adj
  1. solitary; retiring
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French reclus, from Late Latin reclūdere to shut away, from Latin re- + claudere to closereclusion /rɪˈkluːʒən/ n reˈclusive adj
'recluse' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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