solitary

[ sol-i-ter-ee ]

/ ˈsɒl ɪˌtɛr i /

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adjective

alone; without companions; unattended: a solitary passer-by.

living alone; avoiding the society of others: a solitary existence.

by itself; alone: one solitary house.

characterized by the absence of companions: a solitary journey.

done without assistance or accompaniment; done in solitude: solitary chores.

being the only one: a solitary exception.

characterized by solitude, as a place; unfrequented, secluded, or lonely: a solitary cabin in the woods.

Zoology. living habitually alone or in pairs, as certain wasps.Compare social(def 11).

noun, plural sol·i·tar·ies.

a person who lives alone or in solitude, or avoids the society of others.

a person who lives in solitude from religious motives.

solitary confinement.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR solitary

1. lone. 7. isolated, retired, sequestered, remote. 9, 10. hermit, recluse. 10. eremite.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR solitary ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formssol·i·tar·i·ly, adverbsol·i·tar·i·ness, nounun·sol·i·tar·y, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for solitariness

There had been a solitariness in her aspect which seemed to forbid any such companionship.
Room Number 3|Anna Katharine Green
The solitariness which exerted so potent a spell on Wordsworth had in it nothing ‘Byronic.’
Oxford Lectures on Poetry|Andrew Cecil Bradley
Above everything, we find here that solitariness and absence of human interest now so rare in England.
Birds and Man|W. H. Hudson
The solitariness of each human soul is the first fact in religious consciousness.
Mountain Meditations|L. Lind-af-Hageby

Your opportunity, for the solitariness of two, will be limited.
In Her Own Right|John Reed Scott

British Dictionary definitions for solitariness

solitary

/ (ˈsɒlɪtərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

following or enjoying a life of solitudea solitary disposition

experienced or performed alonea solitary walk

(of a place) unfrequented

(prenominal) single; solea solitary speck in the sky

having few companions; lonely

(of animals) not living in organized colonies or large groupssolitary bees; a solitary elephant Compare social (def. 7), gregarious (def. 2)

(of flowers) growing singly

noun plural -taries

a person who lives in seclusion; hermit; recluse

informal short for solitary confinement

Derived Formssolitarily, adverbsolitariness, noun

Word Origin for solitary

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).