Hermit vs. Monk — What's the Difference?

A hermit, or eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic), is a person who lives in seclusion. Hermits are a part of several sections of various religions and this concept has garnered significant attention and importance.

A monk (, from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary" via Latin monachus) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicate his life to serving all other living beings, or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his or her life in prayer and contemplation.

A person living in solitude as a religious discipline.

A man who is a member of a brotherhood living in a monastery and devoted to a discipline prescribed by his order

A hummingbird found in the shady lower layers of tropical forests, foraging along a regular route.

A male member of a monastic order who has devoted his life for religious service.

A person who has withdrawn from society and lives a solitary existence; a recluse.

In earlier usage, an eremite or hermit devoted to solitude, as opposed to a cenobite, who lived communally.

A cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.

(slang) A male who leads an isolated life; a loner, a hermit.

A religious recluse; someone who lives alone for religious reasons; an eremite.

(slang) An unmarried man who does not have sexual relationships.

A recluse; someone who lives alone and shuns human companionship.

(slang) A judge.

A spiced cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.

(printing) A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed; distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink.

A hermit crab.

A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine.

Any in the subfamily Phaethornithinae of hummingbirds.

A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthosternos.

A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret; especially, one who so lives from religious motives.

The bullfinch, common bullfinch, European bullfinch, or Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).

A beadsman; one bound to pray for another.

The monkfish.

A spiced molasses cookie, often containing chopped raisins and nuts.

(historical) A fuse for firing mines.

One retired from society for religious reasons

(colloquial) A monkey.

One who lives in solitude

To be a monk.

To act like a monk; especially to be contemplative.

To monkey or meddle; to behave in a manner that is not systematic.

To be intoxicated or confused.

To be attached in a way that sticks out.

A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty.

A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink.

A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine.

A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthocephalus.

A male religious living in a cloister and devoting himself to contemplation and prayer and work

United States jazz pianist who was one of the founders of the bebop style (1917-1982)