Meanings
plural hermits · alternative obsolete eremite · alternative obsolete heremit · alternative obsolete heremite
- A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.
Millie told him he sounded like some batty hermit who lived in a cave.
2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 1841 more example
Solitary the thrush, / The hermit withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements, / Sings by himself a song.
1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poemsSynonyms: aloner, anchoret, anchorite, eremite, Miller of Dee, monk, recluse, shut-in
- A hermit crab.
Because hermits are decapods and do not live within their own shells, they are not considered to be true crabs.
2016, Vicki Judah, Kathy Nuttall, Exotic Animal Care and Management, page 279 - Any in the subfamily Phaethornithinae of hummingbirds.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.
nounA recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.
More synonyms by meaning
nounone who lives in solitude
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐρημίτης“person of the desert”
- Late Latineremita
- Old Frencheremite
- Middle Englishhermite
- Englishhermit
From Middle English hermite, heremite, eremite, from Old French eremite, from Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin eremita, from Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs, “person of the desert”) from ἐρημία (erēmía, “desert, solitude”), from ἔρημος (érēmos) or ἐρῆμος (erêmos, “uninhabited”) plus -ίτης (-ítēs, “one connected to, a member of”). Doublet of eremite. Displaced native Old English ānsetla.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kluisenaar, kluisenaar
- kluisenaarreligious recluse; eremite
- kluisenaarrecluse; someone who lives alone
Ancient Greek ἐρημίτης, ἐρημίτης
- ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs)religious recluse; eremite
- ἐρημίτης (erēmítēs)recluse; someone who lives alone
- μονότροπος (monótropos)recluse; someone who lives alone
Arabic رَاهِب
- رَاهِب (rāhib)religious recluse; eremite
Bulgarian отшелник, отше́лник
- отшелник (otšelnik)religious recluse; eremite
- отше́лник (otšélnik)recluse; someone who lives alone
Catalan ermità, eremita
- ermitàreligious recluse; eremite
- eremitarecluse; someone who lives alone
- colibrí ermitàbird
Chinese Mandarin 隐士, 隱士 /隐士
- 隐士 (yǐnshì)religious recluse; eremite
- 隱士 /隐士 (yǐnshì)recluse; someone who lives alone
Czech poustevník, poustevník
- poustevníkreligious recluse; eremite
- poustevníkrecluse; someone who lives alone
Dutch kluizenaar, kluizenaar
- kluizenaarreligious recluse; eremite
- kluizenaarrecluse; someone who lives alone
Esperanto ermito, dezertulo
- ermitoreligious recluse; eremite
- dezertulorecluse; someone who lives alone
Estonian erak, üksiklane
- erakreligious recluse; eremite
- üksiklanereligious recluse; eremite
- eremiitreligious recluse; eremite
- erakrecluse; someone who lives alone
- üksiklanerecluse; someone who lives alone
Finnish erakko, erakko
- erakkoreligious recluse; eremite
- erakkorecluse; someone who lives alone
- erakkokolibribird
French ermite, ermitane
- ermitereligious recluse; eremite
- ermitanereligious recluse; eremite
- ermiterecluse; someone who lives alone
German Einsiedler, Eremit
- Einsiedlerreligious recluse; eremite
- Eremitreligious recluse; eremite
- Klausnerreligious recluse; eremite
- Einsiedlerrecluse; someone who lives alone
Greek ερημίτης, ερημίτης
- ερημίτης (erimítis)religious recluse; eremite
- ερημίτης (erimítis)recluse; someone who lives alone
Hebrew נזיר
- נזיר (nazir)religious recluse; eremite
Hungarian remete, remete
- remetereligious recluse; eremite
- remeterecluse; someone who lives alone
Icelandic einsetumaður, einsetumunkur
- einsetumaðurreligious recluse; eremite
- einsetumunkurreligious recluse; eremite
- einsetumaðurrecluse; someone who lives alone
Indonesian resi
- resireligious recluse; eremite
Irish ancaire, ancaire
- ancairereligious recluse; eremite
- ancairerecluse; someone who lives alone
Italian eremita, anacoreta
- eremitareligious recluse; eremite
- anacoretareligious recluse; eremite
- eremitarecluse; someone who lives alone
Japanese 仙人, 仙人
- 仙人 (sennin)religious recluse; eremite
- 仙人 (sennin)recluse; someone who lives alone
- 隠者 (inja)recluse; someone who lives alone
Korean 은자
- 은자 (eunja)recluse; someone who lives alone
Latin inclūsus, inclūsus
- inclūsusreligious recluse; eremite
- inclūsusrecluse; someone who lives alone
Māori eremita, moke
- eremitareligious recluse; eremite
- mokerecluse; someone who lives alone
Norwegian eremitt
- eremittreligious recluse; eremite
Persian راهب, گوشهگیر
- راهبreligious recluse; eremite
- گوشهگیر (guše-gir)recluse; someone who lives alone
Polish anachoreta, eremita
- anachoretareligious recluse; eremite
- eremitareligious recluse; eremite
- pustelnikreligious recluse; eremite
- pustelnicareligious recluse; eremite
- pustelniczkareligious recluse; eremite
- odludekrecluse; someone who lives alone
- pustelnikrecluse; someone who lives alone
- pustelnicarecluse; someone who lives alone
- pustelniczkarecluse; someone who lives alone
- samotnikrecluse; someone who lives alone
- samotnicarecluse; someone who lives alone
- samotniczkarecluse; someone who lives alone
Portuguese eremita, ermitão
- eremitareligious recluse; eremite
- ermitãoreligious recluse; eremite
- eremitarecluse; someone who lives alone
- ermitãorecluse; someone who lives alone
Russian отше́льник, затво́рник
- отше́льник (otšélʹnik)religious recluse; eremite
- затво́рник (zatvórnik)religious recluse; eremite
- отше́льник (otšélʹnik)recluse; someone who lives alone
- затво́рник (zatvórnik)recluse; someone who lives alone
Scottish Gaelic aonaran, aonaran
- aonaranreligious recluse; eremite
- aonaranrecluse; someone who lives alone
Slovak pustovník, eremita
- pustovníkreligious recluse; eremite
- eremitareligious recluse; eremite
- anachorétreligious recluse; eremite
- anachorétareligious recluse; eremite
- pustovníkrecluse; someone who lives alone
Spanish ermitaño, ermitaño
- ermitañoreligious recluse; eremite
- ermitañorecluse; someone who lives alone
- botargarecluse; someone who lives alone
- eremitarecluse; someone who lives alone
- ermitañobird
Swedish eremit, enstöring
- eremitreligious recluse; eremite
- enstöringrecluse; someone who lives alone
Thai นักบวช
- นักบวช (nák-bùuat)religious recluse; eremite
Turkish keşiş
- keşişreligious recluse; eremite
Ukrainian пусте́льник, самі́тник
- пусте́льник (pustélʹnyk)religious recluse; eremite
- самі́тник (samítnyk)recluse; someone who lives alone
- само́тник (samótnyk)recluse; someone who lives alone
Vietnamese nhà ẩn dật, ẩn sĩ
- nhà ẩn dậtreligious recluse; eremite
- ẩn sĩreligious recluse; eremite
- nhà ẩn dậtrecluse; someone who lives alone
- ẩn sĩrecluse; someone who lives alone
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hermit
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
hermit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermit
“hermit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermit. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hermit,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hermit.
Source: hermit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.