The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Anchoret \An"cho*ret\, Anchorite \An"cho*rite\, n. [F.
   anachor[`e]te, L. anachoreta, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to go back,
   retire; ? + ? to give place, retire, ? place; perh. akin to
   Skr. h[=a] to leave. Cf. Anchor a hermit.]
   One who renounces the world and secludes himself, usually for
   religious reasons; a hermit; a recluse. [Written by some
   authors anachoret.]
   [1913 Webster]

         Our Savior himself . . . did not choose an anchorite's
         or a monastic life, but a social and affable way of
         conversing with mortals.                 --Boyle.
   [1913 Webster] Anchoretic

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Anchorite \An"cho*rite\, n.
   Same as Anchoret.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

anchorite
    n 1: one retired from society for religious reasons [syn:
         anchorite, hermit]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

47 Moby Thesaurus words for "anchorite":
   Albigensian, Catharist, Diogenes, Franciscan, Hieronymian,
   Hieronymite, Sabbatarian, Timon of Athens, Trappist, Waldensian,
   abstainer, anchoress, ascetic, bedridden invalid, bhikshu,
   cloistered monk, closet cynic, dervish, desert fathers,
   desert saints, eremite, fakir, flagellant, hermit, hermitess,
   homebody, invalid, isolationist, loner, marabout, mendicant,
   outcast, pariah, pillar saint, pillarist, puritan, recluse,
   sannyasi, seclusionist, shut-in, solitaire, solitary,
   solitudinarian, stay-at-home, stylite, yogi, yogin