solitary
Americanadjective
-
alone; without companions; unattended.
a solitary passer-by.
- Synonyms:
- lone
-
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.
adjective
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following or enjoying a life of solitude
a solitary disposition
-
experienced or performed alone
a solitary walk
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(of a place) unfrequented
-
(prenominal) single; sole
a solitary speck in the sky
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having few companions; lonely
-
(of animals) not living in organized colonies or large groups Compare social gregarious
solitary bees
a solitary elephant
-
(of flowers) growing singly
noun
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a person who lives in seclusion; hermit; recluse
-
informal short for solitary confinement
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of solitary
1300–50; Middle English < Latin sōlitārius alone, by itself, solitary, equivalent to sōlit ( ās ) solitude ( sōl ( us ) sole 1 + -itās -ity ) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
If you're a lone wolf, a one-man band, a rugged individualist, or an island unto yourself, you prefer to be solitary — in other words, alone or single. The term can be used to describe a person, a place, or a thing. Solitary comes to us from the Latin solus, which means alone. Note its similarity to words like solo and, for all you card players out there, solitaire. You can take a solitary walk, during which you don't utter a solitary word, but pause to admire a solitary green shoot peeping through the snow. Solitary is also common in the prison world: Inmates on Alcatraz who were deemed too dangerous to mingle with their fellows were put in solitary confinement cells.
Vocabulary lists containing solitary
Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Mr. Lai remains in solitary confinement and ill health, with only 45 minutes a day for exercise outside his cell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
A solitary man believes he’s been wronged by a vast, overarching system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Nogueira, who has 13,000 followers on TikTok, explained that Gen Z readers found an echo in "the figure of the solitary dreamer, which is how many young people feel today."
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Serrano has mapped out a solitary farewell in Puerto Rico, targeted for later this year or early 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
He knew it was coming, but Alex still winced as Nunu sang out her favorite line, just like she did every single solitary stupid night.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
It is his conversations with fellow city solitaries that unveil smaller revelations, and Saramago casts the transformation of his protagonist in existential terms as Senhor José’s search becomes a project in itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Like everything these days, hermits exist on a wide spectrum and prefer a variety of identifiers: lovers of solitude, solitaries, contemplatives.
From New York Times ● Nov. 28, 2020
But I found out about a newsletter run by a couple in the Carolinas aimed at solitaries and, after posting an ad there, began writing to a few.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 6, 2017
It’s the solitaries who interest her, the lurkers at the fringes.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 12, 2011
The example of these solitaries shows how retirement is favourable to penetrate into the sanctuary of the Muses.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 by Isaac Disraeli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
