: marked by withdrawal from society : solitary
: a person who leads a secluded or solitary life
Did you know?
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
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Dec. 2024
The Pout-Pout Fish is the story of an unlikely duo: Mr. Fish (Offerman), a pouty recluse, and Pip (Oyama), a high-energy sea dragon.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Others, who described him as somewhere between a quiet man and an odd recluse, didn’t want to give their names.
—Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 26 Oct. 2024
But there are only two venomous spiders native to Texas — the brown recluse and the black widow, and their bites are rarely fatal.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 6 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for recluse 
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.
Noun
This includes brown and black widows and brown recluse.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 Dec. 2024
The Pout-Pout Fish is the story of an unlikely duo: Mr. Fish (Offerman), a pouty recluse, and Pip (Oyama), a high-energy sea dragon.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024
Others, who described him as somewhere between a quiet man and an odd recluse, didn’t want to give their names.
—Richard Ruelas, The Arizona Republic, 26 Oct. 2024
But there are only two venomous spiders native to Texas — the brown recluse and the black widow, and their bites are rarely fatal.
—Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 6 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for recluse
Dictionary Entries Near recluse
Cite this Entry
“Recluse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recluse. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share