solitary en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ (General-American)
- /ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Living or being by oneself; alone; having no companion present
Tilling my own grave to keep me level Jam another dragon down the hole Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren One that pushes me along and leaves me so Desperate and ravenous
2003, “Weak and Powerless”, performed by A Perfect Circle:Though we don’t all reach nirvana when we swim, swimming may well be that last refuge from connectivity — and, for some, the only way to find the solitary self.
2014 February 14, Bonnie Tsui, “The Self-Reflecting Pool”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2021:The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020, page 55:
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(not-comparable) Performed, passed, or endured alone.
a solitary journey
a solitary life
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(not-comparable) Not much visited or frequented; remote from society
a solitary residence or place
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(not-comparable) Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted
How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!
1769, Bible (King James Version), Lamentations 1.1the solitary desert
Eldridge closed the despatch-case with a snap and, rising briskly, walked down the corridor to his solitary table in the dining-car.
1931, Francis Beeding, “1/1”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
- (not-comparable) Gloomy; dismal, because of not being inhabited.
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(not-comparable) Single; individual; sole.
That makes it almost half a season with just a solitary win, and Mark Hughes' side will reflect on a costly capitulation at the end of the first half after fine goals from Stuart Armstrong and Cedric Soares had seemingly put them in control.
2018 December 1, Tom Rostance, “Southampton 2 - 2 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport:On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which was no more than a nameboard in the pinewoods, without even a footpath leading to it, but nevertheless with a solitary passenger stolidly waiting.
1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:a solitary example
- (not-comparable) Not associated with others of the same kind.
Deriveds
solitary thrush · semisolitary · solitary tinamou · solitary vice · solitary snipe · unsolitary · solitary sandpiper · solitary wave · solitariness · solitarily · solitary confinement · nonsolitary · solitary wasp · soliton
Synonyms
one · lone · uncheerful · individual · peopleless · wintry · solo · gray · lifeless · beingless · gayless · on one's own · singular · unpeopled · lugubrious · single · disconsolate · solitary · joyless · deavely · tenantless · sullen · dolesome · unoccupied · only · no joke · gloomsome · untenanted · dismal · unhappy · solemn · desolate · gloomy · melancholy · drear · spiritless · lone · comfortless · desolate · mirthless · dreary · doleful · sole · uncheery · peopleless · dire · unhabited · unvisited · sombre · woeful · first and last · inhabitantless · unpopulated · forlorn · wasteful · morose · sunless · somber · desolate · by oneself · dreich · unitary · desert · bleak · grim · unfrequented · deserted · wasteful · bleak · one and only · miserable · drearisome · dark · disinhabited · unmerry · lack-laughter · seclusive · inhabited · singular · howling · cheerless · saturnine · lonely · solitary · vacant · uninhabited · depressing
Translations (104)
bg отделен (single; individual; sole) · pl odludny (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · sh samotan (living alone or being by oneself) · ga aonarúil (living alone or being by oneself) · pt solitário (living alone or being by oneself) · fr seul (living alone or being by oneself) · ca solitari (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · gd uaigneach (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · gd uaigneach (living alone or being by oneself) · cmn 孤零零 (single; individual; sole) · pl pojedynczy (single; individual; sole) · ml ഏകാന്ത (living alone or being by oneself) · fi asumaton (not inhabited or occupied) · ang ānlīpiġ (single; individual; sole) · de einsam (performed, passed, or endured alone) · ja 単独の (performed, passed, or endured alone) · fi yksittäinen (single; individual; sole) · cmn 孤單 /孤单 (single; individual; sole) · ota یالڭز (living alone or being by oneself) · tr münzevi (living alone or being by oneself) · sh inokosan (single; individual; sole) · enm soleyn (living alone or being by oneself) · ca solitari (performed, passed, or endured alone) · ml ഏകാന്ത (performed, passed, or endured alone) · es solitario (living alone or being by oneself) · tr yalnız (performed, passed, or endured alone) · tr yanlız (living alone or being by oneself) · cmn 獨自 /独自 (performed, passed, or endured alone) · de einsiedlerisch (living alone or being by oneself) · ota یالڭز (single; individual; sole) · tr metruk (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · ba берҙән-бер (single; individual; sole) · hu szoliter (single; individual; sole) · ja 独居の (living alone or being by oneself) · pl samodzielny (living alone or being by oneself) · ru едини́чный (single; individual; sole) · ca solitari (single; individual; sole) · vi đơn độc (living alone or being by oneself) · ba яңғыҙ (living alone or being by oneself) · fa انفرادی (performed, passed, or endured alone) · ga aonartha (single; individual; sole) · mi tōtahi (living alone or being by oneself) · gd aonaranach (living alone or being by oneself) · de abgeschieden (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · pl samotny (living alone or being by oneself) · sh inokosan (living alone or being by oneself) · mi moke (living alone or being by oneself) · fi yksinäinen (living alone or being by oneself) · pdt eensiedlich (living alone or being by oneself) · ru уединённый (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · cmn 獨居 /独居 (living alone or being by oneself) · pt só (living alone or being by oneself) · bg незаселен (not inhabited or occupied) · ga aonarúil (single; individual; sole) · gd aonaranach (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · fr solitaire (living alone or being by oneself) · tpi wanpis (living alone or being by oneself) · fi yksinäinen (performed, passed, or endured alone) · tr kimsesiz (living alone or being by oneself) · ga aonarach (living alone or being by oneself) · mi okotahi (single; individual; sole) · pl samotny (performed, passed, or endured alone) · ga aonraic (living alone or being by oneself) · ga aonarach (single; individual; sole) · ga iargúlta (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · de alleinstehend (living alone or being by oneself) · mi pakewa (single; individual; sole) · ba яңғыҙ (performed, passed, or endured alone) · pt solitário (performed, passed, or endured alone) · bg единичен (single; individual; sole) · tr terk edilmiş (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · bg сам (living alone or being by oneself) · ja 無人の (not inhabited or occupied) · sh usamljen (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · pt só (single; individual; sole) · mi pakewa (living alone or being by oneself) · hu egyedüli (single; individual; sole) · ja 単一の (single; individual; sole) · grc μονότροπος (living alone or being by oneself) · el μονήρης (single; individual; sole) · nb ensom (single; individual; sole) · pt solitário (single; individual; sole) · ca solitari (living alone or being by oneself) · cmn 單獨 /单独 (performed, passed, or endured alone) · ru одиночный (performed, passed, or endured alone) · tr yapayalnız (performed, passed, or endured alone) · eo soleca (living alone or being by oneself) · bg самотен (living alone or being by oneself) · bg уединен (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · th สันโดษ (living alone or being by oneself) · ja 孤立した (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · fi yksinäinen (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · de verlassen (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · th ลำพัง (living alone or being by oneself) · th สันโดษ (performed, passed, or endured alone) · el μοναχικός (living alone or being by oneself) · ru одино́кий (living alone or being by oneself) · ga aonartha (living alone or being by oneself) · cmn 獨處 /独处 (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · pt solitário (not much visited or frequented; remote from society) · enm soleyn (performed, passed, or endured alone) · mi okotahi (living alone or being by oneself) · bg усамотен (performed, passed, or endured alone) · mi mokepuihi (living alone or being by oneself)