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solitary

[sol-i-ter-ee]
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adjective
  1. alone; without companions; unattended: a solitary passer-by.
  2. living alone; avoiding the society of others: a solitary existence.
  3. by itself; alone: one solitary house.
  4. characterized by the absence of companions: a solitary journey.
  5. done without assistance or accompaniment; done in solitude: solitary chores.
  6. being the only one: a solitary exception.
  7. characterized by solitude, as a place; unfrequented, secluded, or lonely: a solitary cabin in the woods.
  8. Zoology. living habitually alone or in pairs, as certain wasps.Compare social(def 11).
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noun, plural sol·i·tar·ies.
  1. a person who lives alone or in solitude, or avoids the society of others.
  2. a person who lives in solitude from religious motives.
  3. solitary confinement.
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Origin of solitary

1300–50; Middle English < Latin sōlitārius alone, by itself, solitary, equivalent to sōlit(ās) solitude (sōl(us) sole1 + -itās -ity) + -ārius -ary
Related formssol·i·tar·i·ly, adverbsol·i·tar·i·ness, nounun·sol·i·tar·y, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for solitary on Thesaurus.com
1. lone. 7. isolated, retired, sequestered, remote. 9, 10. hermit, recluse. 10. eremite.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for solitariness

Historical Examples

  • On his table was the dust of solitariness; and with his finger he wrote in it "Forever."

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • Reardon had not been to call, but Jeff was too sick of solitariness to mind that.

    The Prisoner

    Alice Brown

  • One important limitation, however, belongs to this statement of solitariness.

    John Quincy Adams

    John. T. Morse

  • It is loneliness—it is solitariness itself——' and he shuddered.

    Robert Elsmere

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • Your opportunity, for the solitariness of two, will be limited.

    In Her Own Right

    John Reed Scott

British Dictionary definitions for solitariness

solitary

adjective
  1. following or enjoying a life of solitudea solitary disposition
  2. experienced or performed alonea solitary walk
  3. (of a place) unfrequented
  4. (prenominal) single; solea solitary speck in the sky
  5. having few companions; lonely
  6. (of animals) not living in organized colonies or large groupssolitary bees; a solitary elephant Compare social (def. 7), gregarious (def. 2)
  7. (of flowers) growing singly
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noun plural -taries
  1. a person who lives in seclusion; hermit; recluse
  2. informal short for solitary confinement
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Derived Formssolitarily, adverbsolitariness, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Latin sōlitārius, from sōlus sole 1
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 solitariness

solitary

adj.

mid-14c., "alone, living alone," from Old French solitaire, from Latin solitarius "alone, lonely, isolated," from solitas "loneliness, solitude," from solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). Meaning "single, sole, only" is from 1742. Related: Solitarily; solitariness. As a noun from late 14c.; from 1854 as short for solitary confinement (that phrase recorded from 1817).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper