What does "reclusive" mean?

Of, characterized by, or preferring privacy and isolation; secluded.

What is a synonym for "reclusive"?

Common synonyms include: antisocial, cloistered, cloistered, hermit, hermitlike, lonely.

adj

adj ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Of, characterized by, or preferring privacy and isolation; secluded.
"Kim Jong-il, who has died aged 69, was the general secretary of the Workers party of Korea, and head of the military in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). He was one of the most reclusive and widely condemned national leaders of the late 20th and early 21st century, leaving his country diplomatically isolated, economically broken and divided from South Korea."

Adjective

"North Korea’s reclusive leader visits Russia for talks on energy."

From recluse + -ive.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.