shut-ins
Never leave home
Shut-ins are people who rarely or never leave their homes, typically due to illness, disability, or age.
The term often appears in contexts of social services or community outreach: The church delivers meals to shut-ins.
As an adjective, shut-in describes this confined state: a shut-in elderly neighbor.
The word can carry connotations of isolation and loneliness.
Unable to leave home
- bedriddenUnable to leave mattress
- convalescentOne recovering from illness
- immobileUnable to shift
- wheelchair-boundDependent on rolling mobility aid
nonambulatory · infirm · disabled · elderly · chronic illness · home care · caregiver · telemedicine
Person choosing total seclusion
- lonerOne who avoids company
- introvertOne who turns inward
- withdrawnEmotionally distant, disengaged
- antisocialAverse to socializing
misanthrope · solitary · secluded · self-isolated · agoraphobia · social phobia · NEET · avoidant
State of lacking companions
- alienationState of being isolated
- disconnectionState of being severed
- forgottenNo longer recalled
- abandonedLeft behind completely
cut-off · unreachable · estrangement · social withdrawal · detachment · exclusion · invisible · neglected
housebound
Unable to leave home
- bedriddenUnable to leave mattress
- convalescentOne recovering from illness
- immobileUnable to shift
wheelchair-bound · nonambulatory · infirm · disabled · elderly · chronic illness · home care · caregiver · telemedicine · assistive technology
hermit
Person choosing total seclusion
antisocial · misanthrope · solitary · secluded · self-isolated · agoraphobia · social phobia · NEET · avoidant · recluse
loneliness
State of lacking companions
- alienationState of being isolated
- disconnectionState of being severed
- forgottenNo longer recalled
abandoned · cut-off · unreachable · estrangement · social withdrawal · detachment · exclusion · invisible · neglected · marginalized
- recluseshermits, recluses, solitaries, loners, isolates
shut-inssocial butterflies
Highly outgoing, sociable people
socialites · extroverts · gadabouts · party animals · jet-setters
shut-inswanderers
Those who drift aimlessly
nomads · world travelers · globetrotters · free spirits · drifters
shut, inside, shutter, shutdown, shuts, shutting, shutout, shuttered, shutdowns