noun
Refers to a person who withdraws from society to live in solitude, often for religious or philosophical reasons. The term carries a somewhat literary or historical tone.
彼は都会を離れ、山奥で隠士のような生活を送っている。
He left the city and lives like a hermit deep in the mountains.
その老僧は隠士として静かに余生を過ごした。
The old monk spent his remaining years quietly as a recluse.
From Middle Chinese 隱士 (MC ʔɨnX d͡ʒɨX, 'hermit'). The kanji 隠 means 'hide' or 'conceal', and 士 means 'gentleman' or 'scholar', together suggesting a learned person who lives in seclusion.