: 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
Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
Pixels • One promising character disconnected from the plotting so far is Zach Galifianakis as Carl Bardolph, a client of JoAnne’s who made some untold fortune in the business, but has since turned into a bitter recluse.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2026
The recluse toxin binds to the surface of cells and scoots along it like a lawn mower, clipping the heads off molecules on this surface.
—Matthew Cordes, The Conversation, 6 Apr. 2026
This includes brown and black widows and brown recluse.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recluse
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Noun
In Running Point, Romano plays Norm Stinson, a basketball savant turned social recluse who teams up with Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) to rediscover his love for the game.
—Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026
Pixels • One promising character disconnected from the plotting so far is Zach Galifianakis as Carl Bardolph, a client of JoAnne’s who made some untold fortune in the business, but has since turned into a bitter recluse.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2026
The recluse toxin binds to the surface of cells and scoots along it like a lawn mower, clipping the heads off molecules on this surface.
—Matthew Cordes, The Conversation, 6 Apr. 2026
This includes brown and black widows and brown recluse.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 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 28 Apr. 2026.
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