hermit

noun

her·​mit ˈhər-mət How to pronounce hermit (audio)
1
a
: one that retires from society and lives in solitude especially for religious reasons : recluse
b
obsolete : beadsman
2
: a spiced molasses cookie
hermitism noun

Examples of hermit in a Sentence

St. Jerome is said to have spent two years as a hermit in the desert, searching for inner peace.
Recent Examples on the Web They’re known as the perfectionists, guardians, and organizers of the Zodiac, yet also the herbalists, healers, and hermits. Michaela Trimble, Vogue, 13 Mar. 2024 Wildlife preserves were filled with hikers seeking fresh air with a side of hermit thrush. Heller McAlpin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 The officials criticized North Korea's military cooperation with Moscow after the North's Foreign Minister's meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin and as the hermit country continues to conduct missile tests. Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 18 Jan. 2024 Even in his own journals, Kaczynski came across as not a committed revolutionary, but a vengeful hermit driven by petty grievances. Michael Balsamo and Liindsay Whitehurst, Anchorage Daily News, 10 June 2023 This fuzzy green hermit has become synonymous with Christmas-hating curmudgeons and greedy holiday buzzkills worldwide since Dr. Seuss introduced him in his 1957 children's book of the same name. Mike Miller, Peoplemag, 17 Dec. 2023 At the time of his death in 1993, Phoenix was nearing the end of filming Dark Blood — a Dutch thriller film in which Phoenix played a hermit who takes a couple hostage while preparing for the end of the world. Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2023 There’s also this spiritual tradition of the desert: like the Desert Fathers, the early Christian hermits who moved into the desert to be ascetics. Hazlitt, 26 Oct. 2023 Anthony, a hermit who lived in the desert, was not known to have been friendly with animals in the way that Francis was. Mary Dzon, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hermit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English heremite, eremite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin eremita, from Late Greek erēmitēs, from Greek, adjective, living in the desert, from erēmia desert, from erēmos desolate

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hermit was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near hermit

Cite this Entry

“Hermit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermit. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hermit

noun
her·​mit ˈhər-mət How to pronounce hermit (audio)
1
: one that lives apart from others especially for religious reasons : recluse
2
: a spiced molasses cookie

More from Merriam-Webster on hermit

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