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Greta Garbo and Howard Hughes were two of the most famously reclusive celebrities of modern times. She had been a great international star, called the most beautiful woman in the world; he had been an aircraft manufacturer and film producer, with one of the greatest fortunes in the world. It seems that Garbo's reclusiveness resulted from her desire to leave her public with only the youthful image of her face. Hughes was terrified of germs, though that was the least of his problems.
Origin and Etymology of recluse
Middle English, from Anglo-French reclus, literally, shut away, from Late Latin reclusus, past participle of recludere to shut up, from Latin re- + claudere to close — more at close
recluse
Definition of recluse
: a person who leads a secluded or solitary life
Examples of recluse in a Sentence
My neighbor is a recluse—I only see him about once a year.
he was sick of cities and crowds, so he decided to go live by himself in the woods as a recluse
Recent Examples of recluse from the Web
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A stunning defeat to Holly Holm followed and Rousey became a virtual recluse, before reappearing in December to be demolished by Nunes.
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Brown recluse spider: When bitten, there is delayed pain and an ulcer on the skin from necrotic poison that takes a while to heal.
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A 75 year-old recluse tries to keep others out of her home in Saskia Rifkin's psychodrama.
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Maudie Sally Hawkins portrays Maud Lewis in the Sony Pictures Classics biopic, depicting the true story of an unlikely romance between recluse Everett Lewis who hires a fragile yet determined woman named to be his housekeeper.
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Maudie Sally Hawkins portrays Maud Lewis in the Sony Pictures Classics biopic, depicting the true story of an unlikely romance between recluse Everett Lewis who hires a fragile yet determined woman named to be his housekeeper.
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Although fatal bites from both black widows and brown recluse spiders are extremely rare, there's still a risk.
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During his stay at the Vatican mission, Noriega was a virtual recluse in a room, opening the door only when meals were brought, said a churchman who did not want to be named.
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Getz: In 1993, I was bitten by a brown recluse spider.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'recluse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of recluse
13th century
RECLUSE Defined for English Language Learners
recluse
Definition of recluse for English Language Learners
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: a person who lives alone and avoids other people
Learn More about recluse
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See words that rhyme with recluse Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for recluse Spanish Central: Translation of recluse Nglish: Translation of recluse for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of recluse for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about recluse
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