loner

[ loh-ner ]

/ ˈloʊ nər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loner ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is or prefers to be alone, especially one who avoids the company of others: He was always a loner—no one knew him well.

Nearby words

lone wolf, loneliness, lonely, lonely hearts, lonely-hearts, loner, lonesome, lonesomely, long, long abductor muscle of thumb, long account

Origin of loner

First recorded in 1945–50; lone + -er¹

Definition for loner (2 of 2)

lone

[ lohn ]

/ loʊn /

adjective

being alone; without company or accompaniment; solitary; unaccompanied: a lone traveler.

standing by itself or apart; isolated: a lone house in the valley.

sole; single; only: That company constitutes our lone competitor in the field.

unfrequented.

without companionship; lonesome; lonely.

unmarried or widowed.

Origin of lone

1325–75; Middle English; aphetic var of alone, used attributively

SYNONYMS FOR lone

2 separate, separated, secluded.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lone ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formslone·ness, noun

Can be confusedloan lone

Synonym study

1. See alone.

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

Examples from the Web for loner

Fatherless and emotionally needy, du Pont was a loner who sought companionship and adoration—usually at great financial cost.
Foxcatcher’s Real-Life Psycho Killer|Marlow Stern|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nor was Oswald an irrational, discontented Dostoyevskian loner, as some depicted him.
The Revolt Against the Masses and the Roots of Modern Liberalism|Fred Siegel|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The missing leg is only the most obvious sign that Strike is damaged goods, a loner wounded by life long before he went overseas.
J.K. Rowling’s Hardboiled Hoax|Malcolm Jones|July 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She remained a loner in every sense of the word for most of her political career.
Margaret Thatcher: The Accidental Feminist|Amanda Foreman|April 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Marlowe was a loner, a private eye in a one-man operation in Los Angeles during the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
John Banville’s Terrible Idea to Write a New Novel on Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe|Malcolm Jones|August 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Well, he had hair like his mother for example, but he was a loner.
Warren Commission (8 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
It was not loner however until I saw him go into the dance and begin to drink.
Narrative of the Suffering and Defeat of the North-Western Army, Under General Winchester|William Atherton
I guess that's why they called him a loner, because he was alone so much.
Warren Commission (8 of 26): Hearings Vol. VIII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
She hastened to the spring, but fountain and pitcher were no loner there.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXLV. July, 1844. Vol. LVI.|Various
From yon blue heaven above us bent, The grand old gardener and his wife Smile at the claims of loner descent.
Familiar Quotations|Various

British Dictionary definitions for loner (1 of 2)

loner

/ (ˈləʊnə) /

noun

informal a person or animal who avoids the company of others or prefers to be alone

British Dictionary definitions for loner (2 of 2)

lone

/ (ləʊn) /

adjective (prenominal)

unaccompanied; solitary

single or isolateda lone house

a literary word for lonely

unmarried or widowed

Derived Formsloneness, noun

Word Origin for lone

C14: from the mistaken division of alone into a lone

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 loner (1 of 2)

loner

"one who avoids company," 1946; see lone. Apparently first in U.S. baseball slang (earliest reference is to Ted Williams).

Ted is likable enough in spite of his obsession with his specialty. He is something of a "loner," and he refuses to pal around with his teammates in off hours, but in the clubhouse he does his share of the talking. ["Life" magazine, Sept. 23, 1946]

Word Origin and History for loner (1 of 2)

lone

adj.

late 14c., "having no companion, solitary," shortening of alone (q.v.) by weakening of stress or else by misdivision of what is properly all one. The Lone Star in reference to "Texas" is first recorded 1843, from its flag. Lone wolf in the figurative sense is 1909, American English.

loner

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of loner

Definition for loner (2 of 2)

lone

adjective

Origin of lone

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for loner

British Dictionary definitions for loner (1 of 2)

loner

noun

British Dictionary definitions for loner (2 of 2)

lone

adjective (prenominal)

Word Origin for lone

Word Origin and History for loner (1 of 2)

loner

Word Origin and History for loner (1 of 2)

lone