reclusive
adjUK /ɹɪˈkluːsɪv/
Etymology From recluse + -ive.
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.2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:
- And if it sort not well, you may conceal her, As best befits her wounded reputation, In some reclusive and religious life, Out of all eyes, tongues, minds and injuries.1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- Synonyms
- hermitlike, withdrawn, seclusive
- Derived terms
- reclusively, reclusiveness, reclusivity, unreclusive
- Related terms
- recluse