singular

[sing-gyuh-ler]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR singular ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Origin of singular

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

Related formssin·gu·lar·ly, adverbsin·gu·lar·ness, nounsu·per·sin·gu·lar, adjectiveun·sin·gu·lar, adjectiveun·sin·gu·lar·ly, adverbun·sin·gu·lar·ness, noun

Can be confusedsingle singular

Synonyms for singular

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR singular ON THESAURUS.COM

1–4. peculiar. 2. bizarre, queer, curious. 3. uncommon, rare. 4. single.

Antonyms for singular

1. usual.

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

Related Words for singular

unusual, rare, remarkable, exceptional, strange, uncommon, unprecedented, unimaginable, extraordinary, unparalleled, bizarre, peculiar, unique, particular, eccentric, loner, avant-garde, queer, weird, original

Examples from the Web for singular

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of singular

It is a record of singular variety and singular distinction.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
He had a singular feeling that someone had been looking at him while he slept.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
As a matter of fact, we do find a singular satisfaction in the troubles of others.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
In grammar it is a pronoun of the first person and singular number.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
The address was written in a singular hand; in large, print-looking letters.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for singular

singular

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 Formssingularly, 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

Word Origin and History for singular

adj.

mid-14c., "alone, apart; being a unit; special, unsurpassed," from Old French singuler "personal particular; distinctive; singular in number" (12c., Modern French singulier) or directly from Latin singularis "single, solitary, one by one, one at a time; peculiar, remarkable," from singulus (see single (adj.)). Meaning "remarkably good, unusual, rare, separated from others (by excellence), uncommon" is from c.1400 in English; this also was a common meaning of Latin singularis.

singular in Culture

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.)