Dictionary

lonely en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈlɐʉnli/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈləʉnli/ (Australia)
• /ˈloʊnli/ (General-American)
• /ˈlœʊnli/ (General-South-African)
• /ˈloːnli/ (Caribbean, South-Asia)
• (US) audio
• /ˈləʊnli/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From lone + -ly, or from an apheretic shortening of alonely. See lone.

Meanings

1. Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people.
   • LA is the loneliest and most brutal of American cities; New York gets god-awful cold in the winter but there’s a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in some streets. LA is a jungle. 1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, chapter 13, in On the Road, London: Penguin Books, published 1976, →ISBN, part 1, page 86:
   • Well, since my baby left me, Well, I found a new place to dwell. Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street At Heartbreak Hotel. Where I'll be, I'll be so lonely, baby Well, I'm so lonely I'll be so lonely, I could die. 1956, “Heartbreak Hotel”, Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley (lyrics), performed by Elvis Presley:
   • From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away. 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
   • You were lonely for a man I said, "Take me as I am" 'Cause you might enjoy some madness for a while 1980 March 7, Billy Joel, “You May Be Right”, in Glass Houses:
   • At last My love has come along My lonely days are over And life is like a song 1941, “At Last”, Mack Gordon, Harry Warren (music), performed by Glenn Miller, Ray Eberle (vocals), and Pat Friday (vocals):
2. (of a place or time) Unfrequented by people; desolate.
   • […] San Sebastian Church was desolate in the courtyard; emptier, lonelier inside with its pews stretched out like fallen pylons varnished by dolorous residue. From each candlelit nook stared in stony despair one after another saint, regal and rueful: proffering forgiveness, peace, a todo. 1970, Wilfrido D. Nolledo, chapter 19, in But for the Lovers, Dalkey Archive Press, page 165:
   • Only to those to whom in lonely passes in the night the gods have spoken, leaning through the stars, to those that have heard the voices of the gods above the morning or seen Their faces bending above the sea, only to those hath it been given to see Sardathrion, to stand where her pinnacles gathered together in the night fresh from the dreams of gods. 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 2:
3. (of a person) Without companions; solitary.
   • By a lone wall a lonelier column rears. 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza LXV:

Forms

Deriveds

unlonely · lonely-hearted · lonelily · it's lonely at the top · lonely-heart · nonlonely · plough a lonely furrow · lonely-hearts · lonelihood · lonelyhearted

Relateds

loneliness · lone

Synonyms

lonesome (dejected) · alone (without companions) · unaccompanied (without companions) · solitary (without companions) · unpeopled (unfrequented by people) · desolate (unfrequented by people) · empty (unfrequented by people) · unpopulated (unfrequented by people) · desert (unfrequented by people)

Translations (132)

pdt eensiedlich (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · la sōlitārius (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ru одино́кий (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · tr yapayalnız (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ota یالڭز (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · mnc ᠯᠣᡴᡩᠣᡥᠣᠨ (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · et üksildane (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · gd aonaranach (of place: desolate) · nl afgelegen (of place: desolate) · sh òsāmljen (of place: desolate) · sk osamelý (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ms kesunyian (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · az yalnız (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nn einsam (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · da ensom (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · he גַּלְמוּד (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · de alleinig (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ms terpencil (of place: desolate) · ba яңғыҙ (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · unm sinkòmàlsi (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cmn 寂寞 (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · vi cô đơn (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · az yalqız (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · hi अकेला (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ms terpencil (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · mi aroaroā (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · de abgeschieden (of place: desolate) · ja 寂しい (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nl alleen (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cmn 孤獨 /孤独 (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · tr yalnız (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cmn 人跡罕至 /人迹罕至 (of place: desolate) · it solitario (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ar وَحِيد (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ca solitari (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cs osamělý (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · grc ἐρῆμος (of place: desolate) · cmn 荒蕪 /荒芜 (of place: desolate) · tl nalalaiw (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fr désert (of place: desolate) · km ឯកោ (of place: desolate) · fa بیکس (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · pt isolado (of place: desolate) · bcl makapungaw (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · bo གྲོགས་མེད་གཅིག་རྐྱང (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nl alleenig (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fr abandonné (of place: desolate) · tr kimsesiz (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fi yksinäinen (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fo einsamur (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · bqi تک (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · am ብቸኛ (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · az fərd (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · mk осамен (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · hrx eensam (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · pt solitário (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · th รกร้าง (of place: desolate) · vi hoang tàn (of place: desolate) · hu magányos (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · km អបមាន (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · km កំព្រាចិត្ត (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fo einsligur (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · km វិជនដ្ឋាន (of place: desolate) · tr tenha (of place: desolate) · tr garip (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · uk відлю́дний (of place: desolate) · yi עלנט (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · gd aonaranach (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · pl samotny (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nl allenig (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · az tək (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · th เหงา (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nb ensom (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · sv öde (of place: desolate) · sh ùsāmljen (of place: desolate) · bg само́тен (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · es solo (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · gd uaigneach (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · es solitario (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cs osamělý (of place: desolate) · fi autio (of place: desolate) · tr gariban (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · az tənha (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · sh у̀са̄мљен (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · hy միայնակ (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · gd uaigneach (of place: desolate) · yi איינזאַם (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · tr ıssız (of place: desolate) · vi lẻ loi (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ru одино́кий (of place: desolate) · ms sepi (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fo einsamallur (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · be адзіно́кі (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ko 황량하다 (of place: desolate) · bn একাকী (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ar مُوحِش (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · cmn 孤寂 (of place: desolate) · de öde (of place: desolate) · gl solitario (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · eo soleca (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · uk само́тній (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · prg ainaseīlingis (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nl eenzaam (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fa تنها (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · it isolato (of place: desolate) · is einmana (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · it desolato (of place: desolate) · sl osamljen (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · mk самотен (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ckb بێکەس (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · sh ùsāmljen (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ru безлю́дный (of place: desolate) · de einsam (of place: desolate) · it solo (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ru уединённый (of place: desolate) · ckb تەنھا (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ms keseorangan (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · it malinconico (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · lt vienišas (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · grc ἐρῆμος (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · nb ensom (of place: desolate) · sv ensam (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fr seul (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · de einsam (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · fo eina (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · de verlassen (of place: desolate) · ms kesepian (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ko 고독하다 (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · oc solitari (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · ko 외롭다 (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · km អន្លង់អន្លោច (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated) · be само́тны (of person: unhappy by feeling isolated)