The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Recluse \Re*cluse"\ (r[-e]*kl[=u]s"), a. [F. 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
   [1913 Webster]

         In meditation deep, recluse
         From human converse.                     --J. Philips.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The place where a recluse dwells. [Obs.] --Foxe.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Recluse \Re*cluse"\, v. t.
   To shut up; to seclude. [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

recluse
    adj 1: withdrawn from society; seeking solitude; "lived an
           unsocial reclusive life" [syn: recluse, reclusive,
           withdrawn]
    n 1: one who lives in solitude [syn: hermit, recluse,
         solitary, solitudinarian, troglodyte]