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Thu 17 Jan, 2008 11:13 pm
the state of staying at home all the time without going outside?
"he is a very introvert person and prefer ... (at home) all the time."
thanks!
I cannot think of a single British English word for the state. There are some words and phrases to describe a person in such a state. We have a hyphenated phrase, "stay-at-home", which one could use to describe a person who rarely or never goes out.
The phrase carries no implication of introversion though. As always, context is important. For example, a "stay-at-home father" is a man who, contrary to widespread practice, is the partner in a marriage who stays at home and cares for the children while the mother goes out to work during the day.
A person might say "Since I bought my HD television and my new sofa, I have become a stay-at-home".
I wonder if you are thinking of a person who just does not go out as often as other people, or a person who literally never goes out, who is probably mentally ill or disabled? (In the latter situation, we say they are "housebound".)
So, you would have to use a phrase such as "introverted stay-at-home".
Perhaps the word "hermit" would fit the purpose?
The term "shut-in" might work. One definition refers to someone who is sick and can't go out. Here's another definition I found:
Disposed to avoid social contact; excessively withdrawn or introverted.
That's a good one, Roberta. It can also mean a person who cannot get out even if they want to. When I was a Christian teenager (I have been an atheist for 40 years) a group of us used to go to peoples houses and hold mini-services for them. It was called "ministering to shut-ins".
Try "cocooning" and "agoraphobic"
glad you saw the light, contrx.
thanks username (that's a funny username:)).
i like 'cocooning'!
(don't let contrex hear you say that--it's an Americanism, and he'll get all steamy).
cocooning, how vivid. i'm in LA, so i guess i can use it
.
i do find one advantage of british english though -- there's a distinct pronunciation difference between 'can't' and 'can'. here in america, i often could not tell and have to say 'pardon me' several times.
"HOMEBODY" is another expression.