Adjacent Words

Lonely definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LO'NELY, a.
1. Solitary; retired; sequestered from company or neighbors; as a lonely situation; a lonely cell.
2. Solitary; as the lonely traveler.
3. Addicted to solitude or seclusion from company.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: lacking companions or companionship; "he was alone when we met him"; "she is alone much of the time"; "the lone skier on the mountain"; "a lonely fisherman stood on a tuft of gravel"; "a lonely soul"; "a solitary traveler" [syn: alone, lone, lonely, solitary]
2: marked by dejection from being alone; "felt sad and lonely"; "the loneliest night of the week"; "lonesome when her husband is away"; "spent a lonesome hour in the bar" [syn: lonely, lonesome]
3: characterized by or preferring solitude; "a lone wolf"; "a lonely existence"; "a man of a solitary disposition"; "a solitary walk" [syn: lone, lonely, solitary]
4: devoid of creatures; "a lonely crossroads"; "a solitary retreat"; "a trail leading to an unfrequented lake" [syn: lonely, solitary, unfrequented]

Merriam Webster's

adjective (lonelier; -est) Date: circa 1598 1. a. being without company ; lone b. cut off from others ; solitary 2. not frequented by human beings ; desolate 3. sad from being alone ; lonesome 4. producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation Synonyms: see alone • loneliness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. (lonelier, loneliest) 1 solitary, companionless, isolated. 2 (of a place) unfrequented. 3 sad because without friends or company. Phrases and idioms: lonely heart a lonely person (in sense 3). Derivatives: loneliness n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lonely Lone"ly, a. [Compar. Lonelier; superl. Loneliest.] [Shortened fr. alonely.] 1. Sequestered from company or neighbors; solitary; retired; as, a lonely situation; a lonely cell. 2. Alone, or in want of company; forsaken. To the misled and lonely traveler. --Milton. 3. Not frequented by human beings; as, a lonely wood. 4. Having a feeling of depression or sadness resulting from the consciousness of being alone; lonesome. I am very often alone. I don't mean I am lonely. --H. James. Syn: Solitary; lone; lonesome; retired; unfrequented; sequestered; secluded.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lonelier, loneliest) 1. Someone who is lonely is unhappy because they are alone or do not have anyone they can talk to. ...lonely people who just want to talk... I feel lonelier in the middle of London than I do on my boat in the middle of nowhere. ADJ • The lonely are people who are lonely. He looks for the lonely, the lost, the unloved. N-PLURAL: the N 2. A lonely situation or period of time is one in which you feel unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to. I desperately needed something to occupy me during those long, lonely nights. ...her lonely childhood. ADJ 3. A lonely place is one where very few people come. It felt like the loneliest place in the world. ...dark, lonely streets. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Apart, retired, solitary, secluded, isolated, sequestered, remote, dreary, lone-some. 2. Lone, alone, solitary, unaccompanied, companionless. 3. Desolate, dreary, forsaken, deserted, forlorn.

Moby Thesaurus

abandoned, alienated, all alone, alone, aloof, apart, barren, companionless, deserted, desolate, detached, forsaken, friendless, homeless, in solitude, insular, isolated, kithless, lone, lonesome, one, outcast, reclusive, removed, retiring, rootless, secluded, separate, separated, single, single-handed, sole, solitary, solo, unabetted, unaccompanied, unaided, unassisted, unattended, unescorted, uninhabited, unseconded, unsocial, unsupported, withdrawn