hermit

noun

her·​mit ˈhər-mət How to pronounce hermit (audio)
Synonyms of hermit
1
a
: one that retires from society and lives in solitude especially for religious reasons : recluse
b
obsolete : beadsman
2
: a spiced molasses cookie
hermitism
ˈhər-mə-ˌti-zəm How to pronounce hermit (audio)
noun

Synonyms of hermit

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hermit in a Sentence

St. Jerome is said to have spent two years as a hermit in the desert, searching for inner peace.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Tragedy has turned him into a hermit, but the ponderings from his cave are alluring. — Barbara Ellis, Denver Post, 17 May 2026 His father essentially became a hermit. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025 According to Greek and Roman mythology, Orion was a nocturnal hermit hunter who was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods. — Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026 In it, Day-Lewis plays a hermit in the North England woods who’s visited by an old friend (Sean Bean) sent to bring him back to his son. — Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hermit

Word History

Etymology

Middle English heremite, eremite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin eremita, from Late Greek erēmitēs, from Greek, adjective, living in the desert, from erēmia desert, from erēmos desolate

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of hermit was in the 12th century

Phrases Containing hermit

Rhymes for hermit

See All Rhymes for hermit

Browse Nearby Words

Herminones
hermit
hermitage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hermit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hermit. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hermit

noun
her·​mit ˈhər-mət How to pronounce hermit (audio)
1
: one that lives apart from others especially for religious reasons : recluse
2
: a spiced molasses cookie

More from Merriam-Webster on hermit

Nglish: Translation of hermit for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hermit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All