What does seclude mean?
Seclude is a formal verb meaning to remove oneself or someone else from the company of other people. It is often used in the expression “seclude oneself,” especially when someone deliberately retreats from social contact, public attention, or everyday distractions. The word can describe entering a private, protected setting, as in a person secluded in a study, or keeping people apart from a group. Its associations vary with context: it may suggest peaceful privacy and concentration, but it can also imply loneliness or separation imposed from outside. Seclude is related to the adjective “secluded” and the noun “seclusion,” both of which commonly describe a hidden, private, or isolated place. The word is useful because it conveys intentional withdrawal more specifically than the broader “withdraw” and more elegantly than the everyday expression “lock oneself away.” It appears in both British and American English, although its overall register is more literary than conversational.
verbTo remove oneself, or someone else, from the company or society of others; to isolate or keep apart.
- To remove oneself from the company or society of others.
- To isolate or keep someone apart from a group, place, or wider world.
"After the controversy, she secluded herself in a small cottage in the countryside."
"He would seclude himself in his study whenever he wanted to think without interruption."
"The retreat was designed to seclude guests from the distractions of city life."
The word literally means “shut out”: it comes from Latin secludere, built from se- (“apart”) and claudere (“close”).
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does seclude come from?
English “seclude” comes from Latin secludere, a form of secludere formed from se- (“apart”) and claudere (“close”), literally meaning “to close apart” or “shut out.” The word entered Middle English from Latin and developed into the modern verb with its sense of removing someone or oneself from society or a group. Its Latin relatives include English words such as exclude, include, occlude, and conclude, all associated with the same root of closing or enclosing.
Related word forms
How seclude is actually used
Seclude is formal or literary. It is especially common in the reflexive construction “seclude oneself,” and it can suggest either a deliberate retreat for privacy or, depending on context, unwanted isolation.
Easily confused with seclude
“Seclude” is a verb meaning to isolate or keep apart, while “secluded” is an adjective describing something that is private, isolated, or hidden from ordinary attention.