shut-in

noun

Definition of shut-innext
1
as in recluse

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in valley

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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
  • Switzerland imagines Highsmith as a recluse in the Alps, closely guarding a cache of weapons and secrets after a lifetime spent writing mysteries.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, the aging bachelor lived as something of a recluse in the Independence mansion occupied by multiple other relatives and in-laws.
    — Dan Kelly August 22, Kansas City Star, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of recluse
Noun
  • The rocks and melted water suddenly swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing torrents of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Many flood-prone valleys in the country have warning alarms, but as NPR has reported, the government has struggled to keep up with the cost of maintaining the systems.
    — Ava Berger, NPR, 28 Aug. 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
  • Mosses and lichens filled the hollows, while yellowish dead man’s fingers — a spooky and thus aptly named fungus — curled among low-growing rhododendrons that perfumed the air with warm, woody notes.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
  • These snakes lay 4–15 eggs in tree hollows, which hatch in about 45 days.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of hollow
Noun
  • Carle is more of a homebody, sticking closer to Sierra Chincua and often staying in its forests.
    — Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
  • Powering these devices — along with air-conditioning units that are running more thanks homebodies — has also gotten more expensive.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 11 July 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
  • Nepal's mountainous terrain, dotted with deep valleys and narrow gorges, makes rescue and relief operations challenging.
    — Arshad R. Zargar, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Royal Gorge Route operates year-round with up to four departures daily up and down the gorge.
    — Jocelyn Rowley, Denver Post, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of gorge
Noun
  • The series will follow a local estate owner, the Laird of Castle Drummoch (Branagh), who challenges the ambitions of an American billionaire intent on buying up large swaths of the glens.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026
  • Set in the modern Scottish Highlands, Laird is an epic family saga in which a proud Scot defies a shadowy American billionaire hellbent on buying up the glens.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 July 2026
Definition of glen

Browse Nearby Words

shut-eye
shut-in
shut (in or up)
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Cite this Entry

“Shut-in.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shut-in. Accessed 31 Aug. 2026.

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