lonely
Americanadjective
-
lonelier,
comparative
-
loneliest
superlative
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- unpopulated, uninhabited
-
standing apart; isolated.
a lonely tower.
- Synonyms:
- secluded
adjective
-
unhappy as a result of being without the companionship of others
a lonely man
-
causing or resulting from the state of being alone
a lonely existence
-
isolated, unfrequented, or desolate
-
without companions; solitary
Synonym Usage
See alone.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lonely
Explanation
There are a few definitions of lonely but they all share the same qualities: solitude, the absence of human company, and not a lot of exciting stuff going on. If being alone makes you sad, that’s one definition of lonely: the depressing feeling you get when no one else is around. Being alone doesn’t have to be a bummer, and sometimes lonely simply means preferring to be by yourself, like the lonely poet who takes long walks in the woods. Mars is a lonely planet because no life can survive there, and on a cross country trip you’ll drive down many long and lonely roads.
Vocabulary lists containing lonely
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I didn't know how to go on... with having no answer, it was just a horrific, lonely time."
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
But what’s irrefutable is that she knows how lonely it is not to be able to communicate the world inside her head, and how painful it is not to understand others the same way.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
Hopper was a lonely prowler, a connoisseur of half-deserted automats, elevated railways and women glimpsed through windows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“I didn’t want to be the girl who was eating lunch alone because she was lonely, but the girl who did it because she was somehow special.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Even so, in Miss Lumley’s day, to be the governess in a grand estate was a lonely job.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
He is booked on a couple of Regent cruises but his family wonders if going solo will make him lonelier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
That stance is getting lonelier as hard- drive stocks continue their ascent.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
For all the strides society has made during the course of his career toward acceptance and inclusivity, he also sees that patients are lonelier than they used to be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
Researchers, doctors and even Netflix have told us we’re lonelier than ever.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2025
“Lonely? I’ve hardly had a quiet moment since arriving. Stop being a reporter and let’s eat. Besides, there are people in the city who are lonelier than I.”
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
“I mean, sometimes the loneliest place for someone like that is in a crowded room,” Rausch observes in recognizing the sensitivity of a fellow introvert.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Gen Z, it turns out, is the loneliest generation of them all, according to the 2025 Cigna Group report “Loneliness in America.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Mike Alfred had become convinced by 2021 that he was on to a great idea: building huge data centers for bitcoin mining in some of the loneliest spots in Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
One may be the loneliest number, but No. 2 is what sent Shaquille O’Neal urgently mincing off the “Inside the NBA” stage last month while the cameras kept running.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
It was the loneliest summer job a girl could have, stuck in a roadside hut with three walls and a flat tin roof.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
