hermitic

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

her•mit /ˈhɜrmɪt/   n. [countable]

1. a person who lives in solitude, esp. for reasons of religion.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

her•mit  (hûr′mit), n. 

1. a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
2. any person living in seclusion;
   recluse.
3. Zoology an animal of solitary habits.
4. Birds [Ornith.] any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.
5. Food a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.
6. [Obs.] a beadsman.

• Greek erēmīté̄s living in a desert, equivalent. to eré̄m(ia) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite¹
• Late Latin erēmīta
• Old French
• Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite 1175–1225

her•mit′ic, her•mit′i•cal, her′mit•ish, adj. 
her•mit′i•cal•ly, adv. 
her′mit•like′, adj. 
her′mit•ry, her′mit•ship′, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. eremite, monastic, anchorite, cenobite.