Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Recluse \Re*cluse"\, a. [L. reclus, L. reclusus, from recludere,
   reclusum, to unclose, open, in LL., to shut up. See {Close}.]
   Shut up, sequestered; retired from the world or from public
   notice; solitary; living apart; as, a recluse monk or hermit;
   a recluse life

         In meditation deep, recluse From human converse. --J.
                                                  Philips.

Recluse \Re*cluse"\, n. [F. reclus, LL. reclusus. See {Recluse},
   a.]
   1. A person who lives in seclusion from intercourse with the
      world, as a hermit or monk; specifically, one of a class
      of secluded devotees who live in single cells; usually
      attached to monasteries.

   2. The place where a recluse dwells. [Obs.] --Foxe.

Recluse \Re*cluse"\, v. t.
   To shut; to seclude. [Obs.]

Source : WordNet®

recluse
     adj : withdrawn from society; seeking solitude; "lived an unsocial
           reclusive life" [syn: {reclusive}, {withdrawn}]
     n : one who lives in solitude [syn: {hermit}, {solitary}, {solitudinarian},
          {troglodyte}]