Meaning & use
eremitic
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a nounliteraryformal
Relating to or typical of a hermit, someone who lives alone and apart from society, often for religious reasons.
Grammar: Usually comes before a noun: an eremitic life.
Patterns
- an eremitic existence
The monk chose an eremitic life in a cave above the valley.
She admired the eremitic discipline of the desert saints.
His eremitic habits kept him far from the village.
adjectivecomparableliteraryfigurative
Describing a person or way of living that is solitary and avoids contact with others.
Grammar: Can follow be: he became increasingly eremitic.
Patterns
- become eremitic
After the scandal he grew eremitic and rarely answered the door.
The author lived an eremitic existence in the mountains.
She found the eremitic quiet of the library comforting.
Word forms
| comparative | more eremitic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most eremitic |
Common combinations
- eremitic life
- He gave up the city for an eremitic life.
- eremitic monk
- An eremitic monk lived by the spring.
- eremitic existence
- Her eremitic existence puzzled her neighbors.
- eremitic tradition
- The eremitic tradition began in the Egyptian desert.
- eremitic solitude
- He sought eremitic solitude after retirement.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hermitic
- Hermitic means the same but is slightly more common, and eremitic sounds more scholarly.
- reclusive
- Reclusive is an everyday word for avoiding people, without the religious flavor of eremitic.
- solitary
- Solitary describes being alone, but does not suggest a lasting commitment to isolation.
- secluded
- Secluded usually describes a place that is hidden away, while eremitic describes a way of life.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: eremitic or erratic? eremitic or emetic?
eremitic vs erratic
Erratic means unpredictable or irregular and is unrelated to living alone.
eremitic vs emetic
Emetic is a medical word for something that makes you vomit and has nothing to do with hermits.
Practice
A monk who lives alone in a remote cave for prayer can be described as ___.
Choose one answer.
Eremitic means like a hermit. Erratic sounds similar but means unpredictable, so it does not describe a solitary lifestyle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “eremitic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.