recluse · adj — sequestered; secluded, isolated. It carries an Arena rating of 1501, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, recluse ranks #498 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #588 of 17,128 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,608 of 17,136 for Most Malleable Words, #2,699 of 17,132 for Scariest Words.
recluse is pronounced /ɹɪˈkluːs/.
Why “recluse” is a great word
A person who lives a solitary life in seclusion, often by choice. From Old French *reclus*, past participle of *reclure* ("to shut up"), from Latin *reclūdere* ("to shut up, to close off"), from *re-* (intensive) + *claudō* ("to close"), attested in English from the early 13th century. Unlike a “hermit,” who withdraws for spiritual asceticism, or an “introvert,” who merely prefers quieter company, a recluse performs a more absolute, physical negation of the world. It is the mile-long driveway choked with brambles, the specific silence of a telephone that has had its cord cut, the particular quality of light in a room never entered by visitors—the conviction that society is not refused but simply, finally, unnecessary.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere (“to disclose, to open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).
adj
- Sequestered; secluded, isolated.e.g.“a recluse monk or hermit”
- Hidden, secret.
noun
- A person who lives in self-imposed isolation or seclusion from the world, especially for religious purposes; a hermit.e.g.“The recluse in the fable kept a cat to keep off the rats, and then a cow to feed the cat with milk, and a man to keep the cow and so on. My ambitions also grew like the family of the recluse.” — 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xv
- The place where a recluse dwells; a place of isolation or seclusion.e.g.“that day of appearance taken out of the recluse and committed to safe custody” — 1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
- See also Thesaurus:recluse
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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