lonely

[lohn-lee]

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adjective, lone·li·er, lone·li·est.

affected with, characterized by, or causing a depressing feeling of being alone; lonesome.
destitute of sympathetic or friendly companionship, intercourse, support, etc.: a lonely exile.
lone; solitary; without company; companionless.

remote from places of human habitation; desolate; unfrequented; bleak: a lonely road.
standing apart; isolated: a lonely tower.

Origin of lonely

First recorded in 1600–10; lone + -ly

Related formslone·li·ly, adverblone·li·ness, lone·li·hood, nounun·lone·ly, adjective

Synonyms

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4. uninhabited, unpopulated. 5. secluded.

Synonym study

1. See alone.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lonely

Contemporary Examples

The 289-page satire follows Morris Feldstein, a pharmaceutical salesman who gets seduced by a lonely receptionist.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
They want Marvin to be as mean and as lonely and as trashy as the characters he portrays.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015
That is why Malloy is campaigning on a lonely stretch of barber shops and boxing gyms in New Haven a week before the election.
Dan Malloy Is Progressives’ Dream Governor. So Why Isn’t He Winning?
David Freedlander
October 30, 2014
I found their melancholy inviting and I appreciated their contemplative, lonely world.
The Stacks: Edward Hopper’s X-Ray Vision
Hilton Kramer
October 25, 2014
To be a woman suffering from a drinking problem in America is a lonely enterprise, defined by stigma and judgment.
Elizabeth Peña and the Truth About Alcoholic Women
Gabrielle Glaser
October 24, 2014

Historical Examples

It is their virtue in life to be lonely, and none but the lonely man in tragedy may be great.
Riders to the Sea
J. M. Synge
I am almost as lonely as I was on some of those evenings in the old boarding-house.
Ester Ried Yet Speaking
Isabella Alden
I am a lonely man, my sweeting, and I must settle some day when the wars are over and done.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
You can be lonely in a crowd, and I guess—is there any one around here you like better than me?
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
If she had said she was lonely because the cherry bookcase was in Paris, he could not have been more bewildered.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for lonely

lonely

adjective -lier or -liest

unhappy as a result of being without the companionship of othersa lonely man
causing or resulting from the state of being alonea lonely existence
isolated, unfrequented, or desolate

without companions; solitary

Derived Formsloneliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lonely

adj.

c.1600, "solitary, lone," from lone + -ly (1). Meaning "dejected for want of company" is from 1811. Lonely heart (n.) "a lonely-hearted person" is from 1922. Lonely hearted (adj.) is attested from 1820.

lonely

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}lonely

Synonyms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for lonely

Contemporary Examples

The 289-page satire follows Morris Feldstein, a pharmaceutical salesman who gets seduced by a lonely receptionist.

They want Marvin to be as mean and as lonely and as trashy as the characters he portrays.

That is why Malloy is campaigning on a lonely stretch of barber shops and boxing gyms in New Haven a week before the election.

I found their melancholy inviting and I appreciated their contemplative, lonely world.

To be a woman suffering from a drinking problem in America is a lonely enterprise, defined by stigma and judgment.

Historical Examples

It is their virtue in life to be lonely, and none but the lonely man in tragedy may be great.

I am almost as lonely as I was on some of those evenings in the old boarding-house.

I am a lonely man, my sweeting, and I must settle some day when the wars are over and done.

You can be lonely in a crowd, and I guess—is there any one around here you like better than me?

If she had said she was lonely because the cherry bookcase was in Paris, he could not have been more bewildered.

lonely

Word Origin and History for lonely

adj.

Origin of lonely