lonely

[ lohn-lee ]

/ ˈloʊn li /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lonely ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

lone, lone hand, lone pair, lone star state, lone wolf, lonely, lonely hearts, lonely-hearts, loner, lonesome, long

Origin of lonely

First recorded in 1600–10; lone + -ly

SYNONYMS FOR lonely

4 uninhabited, unpopulated.

5 secluded.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lonely ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

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

Synonym study

1. See alone.

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

Examples from the Web for loneliness

She spent almost two years in a nursing home – two years of loneliness she would like to forget.
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It suggests that love and loneliness are not separate things.
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These include tips on how to avoid boredom, loneliness, frustration, and anxiety.
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You feel a horrible, self-punishing sense of isolation and loneliness.
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That incorporates all of the happiness—beaches, sledding, love—and pain—war, death, loneliness.
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But a careful reading of these interesting volumes leaves us in no doubt of the cause of this loneliness.
Some Diversions of a Man of Letters|Edmund William Gosse
I see myself, after a long day of work and loneliness, setting forth from my lodging.
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft|George Gissing
Wilson was such a genial, friendly soul I should have thought he would have felt the loneliness very much.
Louisa May Alcott|Louisa May Alcott
And yet, when she was discharged, an awful sense of loneliness came over Dilsey Quinn.
In Wild Rose Time|Amanda M. Douglas
He wanted a witness,—he dreaded the loneliness of going—but he brooked no interference.
Incredible Adventures|Algernon Blackwood

British Dictionary definitions for loneliness

lonely

/ (ˈləʊnlɪ) /

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 Forms

loneliness, 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