Definition

1. Noun:

   • A person who lives in solitude and avoids society: A "recluse" is someone who chooses to live alone, away from the company and activities of other people, often for religious, personal, or philosophical reasons.

2. Adjective:

   • Withdrawn from society; seeking solitude: Describes a person, lifestyle, or characteristic that is solitary and removed from social contact.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The old man was a recluse who rarely left his cabin in the woods.
  • After her fame, the actress became a virtual recluse, avoiding the public eye.

• Adjective:

  • He led a recluse life, finding peace in isolation.
  • The poet's recluse nature was reflected in her introspective verses.

Advanced Usage

• "To live as a recluse": To adopt a lifestyle of complete solitude.

  • Following the scandal, the politician chose to live as a recluse.

• "Recluse-like": Behaving or living in a manner similar to a recluse.

  • His recluse-like habits made his neighbors curious.

Variants and Related Words

• Reclusive (adj): Preferring or characterized by seclusion or isolation. This is the more common adjectival form.

  • She became increasingly reclusive in her later years.

• Reclusion (n): The state of living in seclusion.

  • His reclusion was a personal choice, not an imposition.

Synonyms

• Noun: Hermit, solitary, anchorite, eremite.
• Adjective: Solitary, secluded, withdrawn, isolated, hermitic.

Antonyms

• Noun: Socialite, extrovert.
• Adjective: Gregarious, sociable, outgoing.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "A recluse from the world": Someone who has completely withdrawn from society.

  • He was a recluse from the world, having no contact with his former life.

• "To go into recluse": To enter a state of seclusion (less common phrasing).

  • The monk went into recluse for a year of meditation.

Adjective

1. withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
   • lived an unsocial reclusive life

Noun

1. one who lives in solitude