singular

[ sing-gyuh-ler ]

/ ˈsɪŋ gyə lər /

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adjective

extraordinary; remarkable; exceptional: a singular success.

unusual or strange; odd; different: singular behavior.

being the only one of its kind; distinctive; unique: a singular example.

separate; individual.

Grammar. noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number found in many languages that indicates that a word form has one referent or denotes one person, place, thing, or instance, as English boy and thing, which are singular nouns, or goes, a singular form of the verb go.Compare dual(def 4), plural(def 4).

Logic.

of or relating to something individual, specific, or not general.
(of a proposition) containing no quantifiers, as “Socrates was mortal.”

Mathematics.

of or relating to a linear transformation from a vector space to itself that is not one-to-one.
of or relating to a matrix having a determinant equal to zero.

Obsolete. private.

Obsolete. single.

noun Grammar.

the singular number.

a form in the singular.

Nearby words

singletree, singlish, singly, singsong, singspiel, singular, singular point, singularity, singularize, singulary, singulative

Origin of singular

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word singulāris. See single, -ar¹

SYNONYMS FOR singular

1–4 peculiar.

2 bizarre, queer, curious.

3 uncommon, rare.

4 single.

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ANTONYMS FOR singular

1 usual.

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Related forms

sin·gu·lar·ly, adverbsin·gu·lar·ness, nounsu·per·sin·gu·lar, adjectiveun·sin·gu·lar, adjective

un·sin·gu·lar·ly, adverbun·sin·gu·lar·ness, noun

Can be confused

single singular

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

Examples from the Web for singular

From this attitude he draws a singular comic and literary power.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Her single and singular goal in every case is to pursue justice as determined by the law.
For Next AG, Obama Picks a Quiet Fighter With a Heavy Punch|Michael Daly|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The singular author Don Carpenter took his own life in 1995.
Don Carpenter Was a Novelist Both Lacerating and Forgiving|Louis B. Jones|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The entire city can seem like a singular monument to his decades in office.
Can America’s Favorite Ex-Con Mayor Win Again?|David Freedlander|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Eastwood is a singular screen presence, and he can be electrifying in the right role.
‘Jersey Boys’ Proves Clint Eastwood is Hollywood’s Most Overrated Director|Andrew Romano|June 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His advice, however, sunk deep into my mind, and has often been of singular value to me since.
Parker's Second Reader|Richard G. Parker
That is to say he describes them as Predicables simply by contradistinction from Singular names.
Logic, Inductive and Deductive|William Minto
What singular warning of chance or of destiny tore them asunder?
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and Travels, Vol. I (of 2)|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
They are all singular, many of them beautiful, and some splendid; yet they have never been popular plants in our collections.
The American Flower Garden Directory|Thomas Hibbert
A singular proviso this in a country boasting so much of freedom!
North America, Volume I (of 2)|Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for singular

singular

/ (ˈsɪŋɡjʊlə) /

adjective

remarkable; exceptional; extraordinarya singular feat

unusual; odda singular character

unique

denoting a word or an inflected form of a word indicating that not more than one referent is being referred to or described

logic of or referring to a specific thing or person as opposed to something general

noun

grammar

the singular number
a singular form of a word

Derived Forms

singularly, adverbsingularness, noun

Word Origin for singular

C14: from Latin singulāris single

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

Culture definitions for singular

singular

In nouns, pronouns, and verbs, the grammatical form that refers to only one thing. In the following sentence, the singular words are italicized: “The police officer stops anyone who crosses before the light changes.” (Compare plural; see agreement.)

singular

adjective

noun Grammar.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of singular

SYNONYMS FOR singular

ANTONYMS FOR singular

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for singular

British Dictionary definitions for singular

singular

adjective

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for singular

Culture definitions for singular

singular