Recluse Meaning
/ɹɪˈkluːs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjSequestered; secluded, isolated.
adjHidden, secret.
Sentence Examples
There's a brown recluse spider in the attic.
Tom is a recluse.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man who never left his house and refused visitors was a true ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After retiring from public life, she became a complete ____ and rarely left her country home.
Word Origin & History
From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin reclūdere (“to disclose, to open”), from re- + claudō (“close”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Hermits themſelves are not recluſe enough to ſeclude that ſubtile ſpirit, Vanity: […]"
— 1667, J[ohn] Evelyn, Publick Employment and an Active Life, with Its Appanages, such as Fame, Command, Riches, Conversation, &c. Preferred to Solitude: […], London: […] J. M. for H[enry] Herringman […], →OCLC, page 6:
"In meditation deep, recluse / From human converse."
— 1708, [John Philips], “(please specify the page)”, in Cyder. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"First, the president’s uncle died in 1985. Kaczynski was publicly revealed as the Unabomber more than a decade later, in 1996, when he was captured; before that, he had lived as a recluse in the Montana wilderness."
— 2025 July 16, Daniel Dale, “Fact check: Trump tells fictional story about his uncle and the Unabomber”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2025:
"that day of appearance taken out of the recluse and committed to safe custody"
— 1563 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), John Foxe, Actes and Monuments of These Latter and Perillous Dayes, […], London: […] Iohn Day, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man who never left his house and refused visitors was a true ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After retiring from public life, she became a complete ____ and rarely left her country home.