solitude

[ sol-i-tood, -tyood ]

noun

1. the state of being or living alone; seclusion:

   to enjoy one's solitude.

   Synonyms: privacy, retirement

2. remoteness from habitations, as of a place; absence of human activity:

   the solitude of the mountains.

   Synonyms: loneliness

3. a lonely, unfrequented place:

   a solitude in the mountains.

   Synonyms: wilderness, desert

solitude

/ ˈsɒlɪˌtjuːd /

noun

1. the state of being solitary or secluded
2. poetic.
   a solitary place

Derived Forms

• ˌsoliˈtudinous, adjective

Other Words From

• sol·i·tu·di·nous [sol-i-, tood, -n-, uh, s, -, tyood, -], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of solitude¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin sōlitūdō. See soli- ¹, -tude

Word History and Origins

Origin of solitude¹

C14: from Latin sōlitūdō, from sōlus alone, sole ¹

Synonym Study

Solitude, isolation refer to a state of being or living alone. Solitude emphasizes the quality of being or feeling lonely and deserted: to live in solitude. Isolation may mean merely a detachment and separation from others: to be put in isolation with an infectious disease.

Example Sentences

While in-game socialization can be productive for some, others may prefer the solitude that comes with playing through a narrative game.

From Popular-Science

She didn’t own a television, lived alone and stressed the importance of solitude.

From Washington Post

Services are limited, but you could argue that winter is the best time to visit Shenandoah if you like solitude.

From Outside Online

The true joy of fishing is using the rod as an excuse to spend time outdoors together as a family, especially now as we all seek fun and solitude in the outdoors.

From Outside Online

With all these out of reach, I discovered that I wasn’t such a solitude expert after all.

From MIT Technology Review

Perhaps some of that solitude and bitterness found its way into Alec Leamas.

From The Daily Beast

The Dude is at his happiest when he has a few minutes of solitude and rest to get high and listen to whale sounds.

From The Daily Beast

Solitude activates the imagination, and invites introspection.

From The Daily Beast

Adam (Tom Hiddleston), the vampire composer, seeks solitude and people willing to trade him his blood fix.

From The Daily Beast

If you thought qualifications for being a hermit were a tendency toward solitude and dislike of civilization, think again.

From The Daily Beast

Was he really condemned to an eternal solitude because of the girl who had died so many years ago?

From Project Gutenberg

Prud'hon, in humiliation and despair, lived in a solitude almost complete.

From Project Gutenberg

He walked on, and thought of the rapt liberty of the soul in the sweet serenities of beautiful solitude.

From Project Gutenberg

No, poor thing, I fear she has anxieties of her own just now, she seeks solitude a good deal.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he would burst rudely into my solitude and while I sopped cold water over his injured members, he would blubber.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• emptiness
• isolation
• loneliness
• seclusion
• silence