shut-in

noun

Definition of shut-innext
1
as in recluse

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in valley

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shut-in Production shut-ins Brent crude futures could climb to $135 per barrel if the current situation persists for four months, according to Janiv Shah, vice president of oil markets at Rystad Energy. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 9 Mar. 2026 Her brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), is an agoraphobic shut-in failing to confront his mounting mental-health crises. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025 That means overcoming Ella’s hostility and bridging the divide with her uncommunicative kid brother Casey (Spike Fearn), an MIT graduate who has become an agoraphobic shut-in since his breakup with beloved girlfriend Susan (Ayo Edebiri). — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Dec. 2025 By visiting with the sick and shut-in, helping the bereaved, ministering to the incarcerated, always being willing to open the doors of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church to more people, teaching theology to other pastors and more, Thornhill was a pastor. — Sophia Tiedge, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shut-in
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shut-in
  1. recluse
  2. valley
  3. hermit
  4. hollow
  5. homebody
  6. vale
  7. gorge
  8. glen
Noun
  • The brown recluse is not an aggressive spider and will not immediately bite unless threatened.
    — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 5 July 2026
  • According to professionals, during an active infestation, the family would typically find 20 to 30 recluses in their traps overnight.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 14 June 2026
Definition of recluse
Noun
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 10 July 2026
  • Tucked into the southern end of the teeming, alluvial Willamette River valley, the region’s natural abundance began attracting farmers in the mid-nineteenth century.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of valley
Noun
  • The area was also chosen by artistic hermit squatters, known as Dunnites, who lived around nearby Oceano and Nipomo in the 1930s.
    — Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • Tragedy has turned him into a hermit, but the ponderings from his cave are alluring.
    — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 17 May 2026
Definition of hermit
Noun
  • Groups of amateur sleuths also cropped up in the hollows of tragedy to wrestle with the case and analyze rumors swarming the Horman family in online forums, echoing a familiar pattern of behavior on the internet in the face of long-unsolved criminal cases.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 23 June 2026
  • That single number makes every record-high headline ring hollow.
    — Kam Shenai, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026
Definition of hollow
Noun
  • Both works follow a family of birds whose homebody father reluctantly agrees to a road trip-esque migration.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 29 June 2026
  • At the same time, Iryna also was a notorious homebody who often seemed happiest just spending time with family or curling up on the couch or her bed with her sketchbook.
    — Julia Coin April 14, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of homebody
Noun
  • Her journey takes her to the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love and reinvention.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026
  • But Mary’s journey takes her far beyond that familiar estate — to the soirées of Regency London and the peaks and vales of the Lake District, all in search of independence, self-love and reinvention.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of vale
Noun
  • The road is cut directly into a cliff and runs above a deep gorge.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
  • And only now, after being acquired at February’s trade deadline, can James Harden gorge himself on regular-season statistics with the Cavaliers.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 July 2026
Definition of gorge
Noun
  • One of the finest temperate rain forests in the United States, the Hoh Rain Forest is worth visiting just for fantastical trails like the Hall of Mosses and Hoh River Trail, which wind through peaceful glens of trees positively dripping with moss.
    — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 5 July 2026
  • Pause for lunch, then drift through fishing villages, beaches and glens that define Donegal’s rugged character.
    — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
Definition of glen

Browse Nearby Words

shut-eye
shut-in
shut (in or up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shut-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shut-in. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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