: a person who leads a secluded or solitary life
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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.
Examples of recluse in a Sentence
Noun
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 on the Web
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2026
For all 11 songs, the 35-year-old indie rock star assumes the character of a recluse in a messy house.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 11 Mar. 2026
Cast also includes Rebecca Pidgeon as PR flack Georgia Cornchuk-Stein, and Chris Bauer as a Malibu recluse.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026
Another neighbor described the victim as a recluse.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recluse
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Noun
The villagers start blaming the recluse ‘witch’ of the village who is known to practice black magic.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Mar. 2026
For all 11 songs, the 35-year-old indie rock star assumes the character of a recluse in a messy house.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 11 Mar. 2026
Cast also includes Rebecca Pidgeon as PR flack Georgia Cornchuk-Stein, and Chris Bauer as a Malibu recluse.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026
Another neighbor described the victim as a recluse.
—Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recluse
Cite this Entry
“Recluse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recluse. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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