solitary

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈsɑləˌtɛriː/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Existing or living alone; without companions or company; isolated from others.; Done or experienced alone; without the presence of others.; Single; only one; sole.; Secluded or remote; unfrequented by people.; In zoology, living alone rather than in colonies or groups, as certain insects or animals.; In botany, growing singly rather than in clusters or groups.
  2. noun
    A person who lives alone or in seclusion; a recluse or hermit.; Short for solitary confinement; the practice of isolating a prisoner in a separate cell.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: solitaries Comparative: more solitary Superlative: most solitary

Collocations

solitary confinementsolitary figuresolitary lifesolitary walksolitary existencesolitary creature

Derivatives

solitudesolitarilysolitarinesssolitary confinement

Synonyms

alonelonelyisolatedsecludedreclusivesingle

Antonyms

socialgregarioussociableaccompanied

Commonly confused

solitude
EN: 'Solitude' is the noun referring to the state of being alone; 'solitary' is the adjective describing someone or something that is alone.
solo
EN: 'Solo' emphasizes performing an action alone (often in music or aviation); 'solitary' emphasizes the state or quality of being alone, often with a connotation of isolation.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'solitary' has one 'l' and ends in '-ary', not '-ery'. Do not confuse with 'solitude' which uses '-tude'.

💬 Examples

  1. He lived a solitary life in a cabin deep in the woods.

  2. She took a solitary walk along the beach at dawn.

  3. There was not a solitary cloud in the sky that day.

  4. They discovered a solitary valley hidden between the mountains.

  5. Unlike honeybees, solitary bees do not form colonies.

  6. The flower appeared as a solitary bloom at the end of the stem.

  7. The old solitary had not spoken to another human being in years.

  8. The inmate was placed in solitary for violating prison rules.