different between aloof vs recluse

English

Etymology

From Middle English loof (“weather gage, windward direction”), probably from Middle Dutch (Compare Dutch loef (“the weather side of a ship”)), originally a nautical order to keep the ship's head to the wind, thus to stay clear of a lee-shore or some other quarter, hence the figurative sense of "at a distance, apart".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??lu?f/
• Rhymes: -u?f

Adverb

aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)

1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.

Translations

Adjective

aloof (comparative more aloof, superlative most aloof)

1. Reserved and remote; either physically or emotionally distant; standoffish.

Derived terms

• aloofly
• aloofness

Translations

Preposition

aloof

1. (obsolete) Away from; clear of.

See also

• See also Thesaurus:arrogant

References

Anagrams

• loofa

English

Etymology

From Old French reclus, past participle of reclure, from Latin recl?dere, present active infinitive of recl?d? (“I disclose, I open”), from re- + claud? (“close”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???klu?s/, /???klu?s/
• Rhymes: -u?s

Adjective

recluse (comparative more recluse, superlative most recluse)

1. (now rare) sequestered; secluded, isolated
   • J. Philips

     In meditation deep, recluse / From human converse.

2. (now rare) hidden, secret

Synonyms

• reclusive

Noun

recluse (plural recluses)

1. a person who lives in self-imposed isolation or seclusion from the world, especially for religious purposes; a hermit
   • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xv:

     The recluse in the fable kept a cat to keep off the rats, and then a cow to feed the cat with milk, and a man to keep the cow and so on. My ambitions also grew like the family of the recluse.

   Synonyms: anchorite, eremite, hermit

2. (obsolete) the place where a recluse dwells; a place of isolation or seclusion

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Foxe to this entry?)

3. (US) a brown recluse spider

See also Thesaurus:recluse

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

recluse (third-person singular simple present recluses, present participle reclusing, simple past and past participle reclused)

1. (obsolete) to shut; to seclude

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.klyz/
• Homophone: recluses

Adjective

recluse

1. feminine singular of reclus

Italian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -uze

Adjective

recluse

1. feminine plural of recluso

Noun

recluse f

1. plural of reclusa

Verb 1

recluse

1. feminine plural of the past participle of recludere

Verb 2

recluse

1. third-person singular past historic of recludere

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re?klu?.se/, [r??k??u?s??]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re?klu.se/, [r??klu?s??]

Participle

recl?se

1. vocative masculine singular of recl?sus