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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Hooked on a Feeling, List 3
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 6
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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:
For instance, people who felt lonely may have sought out more interaction, even when those encounters did not provide the support they needed.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
There’s a quiet comfort in knowing your neighbors, especially in a sprawling, sometimes lonely city like Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Hiking through Sabino Canyon beneath towering saguaro cactuses, the empty trails felt vast and lonely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
“They’re like, ‘Aye, Mack, it’s lonely on this side.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
He was merely isolated and apart, without actually feeling lonely or deeply unhappy.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
In research published in the journal Science this month, she and Natalia Emanuel and Amanda Pallais presented evidence that remote work has made Americans lonelier and more mentally distressed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
In her essay collection “The Age of Loneliness,” Laura Marris examines quiet conditions that our society doesn’t know have been lost and how we’re lonelier for those untold vanishings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
That stance is getting lonelier as hard- drive stocks continue their ascent.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
“People are lonelier now. Our generation is lonelier.”
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
Three a.m. would get a whole lot lonelier the next time she saw it against the backs of her eyelids.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
“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
Mr. Herzog began work in 2020, during the loneliest months of the Covid-19 pandemic, toiling in isolation and making highly personal sketches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2025
"I went in voluntarily and it was just the loneliest feeling in the world getting dropped off at a mental health ward with a bag and no baby," the 35-year-old said.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2025
I felt, as I told one colleague, like the loneliest man in the world.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions 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.
