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solitary

American  

[sol-i-ter-ee] / ˈsɒl ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. 

   alone; without companions; unattended.

   a solitary passer-by.

   Synonyms:

   lone

2. living alone; avoiding the society of others.

   a solitary existence.

3. by itself; alone.

   one solitary house.

4. characterized by the absence of companions.

   a solitary journey.

5. done without assistance or accompaniment; done in solitude.

   solitary chores.

6. being the only one.

   a solitary exception.

7. characterized by solitude, as a place; unfrequented, secluded, or lonely.

   a solitary cabin in the woods.

   Synonyms:

   remote, retired, isolated

8. Zoology. living habitually alone or in pairs, as certain wasps.

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noun

• solitaries
  plural

1. a person who lives alone or in solitude, or avoids the society of others.

   Synonyms:

   recluse, hermit

2. a person who lives in solitude from religious motives.

   Synonyms:

   eremite, recluse, hermit

3. solitary confinement.

solitary British  

/ ˈsɒlɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. following or enjoying a life of solitude

   a solitary disposition

2. experienced or performed alone

   a solitary walk

3. (of a place) unfrequented

4. (prenominal) single; sole

   a solitary speck in the sky

5. having few companions; lonely

6. (of animals) not living in organized colonies or large groups Compare social gregarious

   solitary bees

   a solitary elephant

7. (of flowers) growing singly

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noun

1. a person who lives in seclusion; hermit; recluse

2. informal short for solitary confinement

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• solitariness
  noun
• unsolitary
  adjective
• solitarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• solitaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of solitary

1300–50; Middle English < Latin sōlitārius alone, by itself, solitary, equivalent to sōlit ( ās ) solitude ( sōl ( us ) sole ¹ + -itās -ity ) + -ārius -ary

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Explanation

If you're a lone wolf, a one-man band, a rugged individualist, or an island unto yourself, you prefer to be solitary — in other words, alone or single. The term can be used to describe a person, a place, or a thing. Solitary comes to us from the Latin solus, which means alone. Note its similarity to words like solo and, for all you card players out there, solitaire. You can take a solitary walk, during which you don't utter a solitary word, but pause to admire a solitary green shoot peeping through the snow. Solitary is also common in the prison world: Inmates on Alcatraz who were deemed too dangerous to mingle with their fellows were put in solitary confinement cells.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

solitary solitaries

During his court appearance on Monday, it was clear he did not lose his sense of humour during his 88 days in solitary confinement.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

It’s a sense of the ultramarathoner world being a kind of mosaic, the runners united by their passion, but never anything but solitary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

A solitary man believes he’s been wronged by a vast, overarching system.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Nogueira, who has 13,000 followers on TikTok, explained that Gen Z readers found an echo in "the figure of the solitary dreamer, which is how many young people feel today."

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

With very few trees on the road, they moved out into the field and plopped down under the leafy branches of a large, solitary oak tree.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

It is his conversations with fellow city solitaries that unveil smaller revelations, and Saramago casts the transformation of his protagonist in existential terms as Senhor José’s search becomes a project in itself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

He was one of the longest‑enduring solitaries in history, and among the most fervent as well.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2017

He never pitied or condescended to his solitaries; instead, he loved and understood them.

From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2016

It’s the solitaries who interest her, the lurkers at the fringes.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 12, 2011

A few mysterious solitaries lent a vague life to the scene.

From Gargoyles by Ben Hecht

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Related Words

• lone
• lonely
• singular

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