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.
A recluse is someone in isolation who hides away from the attention of the public, a person who lives in solitude, i.e. seclusion from intercourse with the world. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester".