alone

[uh-lohn]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alone ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective (used predicatively)

separate, apart, or isolated from others: I want to be alone.

to the exclusion of all others or all else: One cannot live by bread alone.

unique; unequaled; unexcelled: He is alone among his peers in devotion to duty.

adverb

solitarily; solely: She prefers to live alone.

only; exclusively.

without aid or help: The baby let go of the side of the crib and stood alone.

Idioms

leave alone,

to allow (someone) to be by himself or herself: Leave him alone—he wants to rest.
to refrain from annoying or interfering with: The youngsters wouldn't leave the dog alone, and he finally turned on them.

let alone,

to refrain from annoying or interfering with.
not to mention: He was too tired to walk, let alone run.

let well enough alone, to be satisfied with the existing situation; refrain from attempting to change conditions: Marriages are often destroyed by relatives who will not let well enough alone.

Origin of alone

1250–1300; Middle English al one all (wholly) one

Related formsa·lone·ness, noun

Synonyms for alone

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alone ON THESAURUS.COM

1. single, solitary; unaccompanied, unattended.

Synonym study

1. Alone, lone, lonely, lonesome all imply being without companionship or association. Alone is colorless unless reinforced by all; it then suggests solitariness or desolation: alone in the house; all alone on an island. Lone is somewhat poetic or is intended humorously: a lone sentinel. Lonely implies a sad or disquieting feeling of isolation. Lonesome connotes emotion, a longing for companionship.

Antonyms for alone

1. accompanied.

Usage note

7, 8. See leave¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for alone

only, unattended, solely, unaccompanied, solo, abandoned, deserted, desolate, detached, forlorn, forsaken, friendless, hermit, individual, isolated, lone, lonely, lonesome, single, sole

Examples from the Web for alone

Contemporary Examples of alone

By contrast, John McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, had raised approximately $12.7 million in the first quarter of 2007 alone.
Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen?
Lloyd Green
January 4, 2015
Women and children are disproportionately victims, but they are not alone.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism
Louise I. Shelley
December 26, 2014
It happened and it was a group of maybe 200 in a movement that has drawn tens of thousands in New York alone.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops
Jacob Siegel
December 23, 2014
But the Chinese have shown little interest, of late, in corralling its own hackers—let alone those from another country.
Obama Could Hit China to Punish North Korea
Shane Harris, Tim Mak
December 20, 2014
The other person for whom a path to the nomination, let alone a candidacy, seems much less likely is Mitt Romney.
How A Jeb Bush Candidacy Would Hurt Chris Christie And Shake Up The 2016 GOP Field
David Freedlander
December 16, 2014

Historical Examples of alone

When he came out ten minutes later Uncle Peter was waiting for him alone.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Mauburn had gone to his room to be alone with this bitter news.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The losses in New York City alone were said to be fifty millions.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He assented--and being thus, in a manner, ordered up--went it alone.
Punchinello, Vol. 1. No. 20, August 13, 1870
Various
He's too honest entirely to stale the value of a pin, let alone a carpetbag.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for alone

alone

adjective, adverb (postpositive)

apart from another or others; solitary

without anyone or anything elseone man alone could lift it

without equal; uniquehe stands alone in the field of microbiology

to the exclusion of others; onlyshe alone believed him

leave alone, leave be, let alone or let be to refrain from annoying or interfering with

leave well alone, leave well enough alone, let well alone or let well enough alone to refrain from interfering with something that is satisfactory

let alone much less; not to mentionhe can't afford beer, let alone whisky

Word Origin for alone

Old English al one, literally: all (entirely) one

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 alone

adj., adv.

c.1300 contraction of all ane, from Old English all ana "unaccompanied, all by oneself," from all "all, wholly" (see all) + an "one" (see one). Similar compounds are found in German (allein) and Dutch (alleen).

Idioms and Phrases with alone

alone

see go it alone; leave someone alone; leave well enough alone; let alone.