Adjacent Words

Solitary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SOL'ITARY, a. [L. solitarius, from solus, alone.]
1. Living alone; not having company. Some of the more ferocious animals are solitary, seldom or never being found in flocks or herds. Thus the lion is called a solitary animal. Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.
2. Retired; remote from society; not having company, or not much frequented; as a solitary residence or place.
3. Lonely; destitute of company; as a solitary life.
4. Gloomy; still; dismal. Let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. Job 3.
5. Single; as a solitary instance of vengeance; a solitary example.
6. In botany, separate; one only in a place; as a solitary stipule. A solitary flower is when there is only one to each peduncle; a solitary seed, when there is only one in a pericarp.
SOL'ITARY, n. One that lives alone of in solitude; a hermit; a recluse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: characterized by or preferring solitude; "a lone wolf"; "a lonely existence"; "a man of a solitary disposition"; "a solitary walk" [syn: lone, lonely, solitary]
2: of plants and animals; not growing or living in groups or colonies; "solitary bees" [syn: nongregarious, nonsocial, solitary]
3: 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]
4: being the only one; single and isolated from others; "the lone doctor in the entire county"; "a lonesome pine"; "an only child"; "the sole heir"; "the sole example"; "a solitary instance of cowardice"; "a solitary speck in the sky" [syn: lone, lonesome, only, sole, solitary]
5: devoid of creatures; "a lonely crossroads"; "a solitary retreat"; "a trail leading to an unfrequented lake" [syn: lonely, solitary, unfrequented] n
1: confinement of a prisoner in isolation from other prisoners; "he was held in solitary" [syn: solitary confinement, solitary]
2: one who lives in solitude [syn: hermit, recluse, solitary, solitudinarian, troglodyte]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, solitarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin solitarius, from solitas aloneness, from solus alone Date: 14th century 1. a. being, living, or going alone or without companions b. saddened by isolation 2. unfrequented, desolate <a solitary seashore> 3. a. taken, passed, or performed without companions <a solitary ramble> b. keeping a prisoner apart from others <solitary confinement> 4. being at once single and isolated <a solitary example> 5. a. occurring singly and not as part of a group or cluster <flowers terminal and solitary> b. not gregarious, colonial, social, or compound <solitary bees> Synonyms: see alone • solitarily adverb • solitariness noun II. noun (plural -taries) Date: 15th century 1. one who lives or seeks to live a solitary life ; recluse 2. solitary confinement in prison <put him in solitary>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 living alone; not gregarious; without companions; lonely (a solitary existence). 2 (of a place) secluded or unfrequented. 3 single or sole (a solitary instance). 4 (of an insect) not living in communities. 5 Bot. growing singly, not in a cluster. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a recluse or anchorite. 2 colloq. = solitary confinement. Phrases and idioms: solitary confinement isolation of a prisoner in a separate cell as a punishment. Derivatives: solitarily adv. solitariness n. Etymology: ME f. L solitarius f. solus alone

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Solitary Sol"i*ta*ry, a. [L. solitarius, fr. solus alone: cf. F. solitaire. See Sole, a., and cf. Solitaire.] 1. Living or being by one's self; having no companion present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely. Those rare and solitary, these in flocks. --Milton. Hie home unto my chamber, Where thou shalt find me, sad and solitary. --Shak. 2. Performed, passed, or endured alone; as, a solitary journey; a solitary life. Satan . . . explores his solitary flight. --Milton. 3. ot much visited or frequented remote from society; retired; lonely; as, a solitary residence or place. 4. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal; as, the solitary desert. How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people. --Lam. i. 1. Let that night be solitary; let no joyful voice come therein. --Job iii. 7. 5. Single; individual; sole; as, a solitary instance of vengeance; a solitary example. 6. (Bot.) Not associated with others of the same kind. Solitary ant (Zo["o]l.), any solitary hymenopterous insect of the family Mutillid[ae]. The female of these insects is destitute of wings and has a powerful sting. The male is winged and resembles a wasp. Called also spider ant. Solitary bee (Zo["o]l.), any species of bee which does not form communities. Solitary sandpiper (Zo["o]l.), an American tattler (Totanus solitarius). Solitary snipe (Zo["o]l.), the great snipe. [Prov. Eng.] Solitary thrush (Zo["o]l.) the starling. [Prov. Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Solitaire Sol`i*taire", n. [F. See Solitary.] 1. A person who lives in solitude; a recluse; a hermit. --Pope. 2. A single diamond in a setting; also, sometimes, a precious stone of any kind set alone. Diamond solitaires blazing on his breast and wrists. --Mrs. R. H. Davis. 3. A game which one person can play alone; -- applied to many games of cards, etc.; also, to a game played on a board with pegs or balls, in which the object is, beginning with all the places filled except one, to remove all but one of the pieces by ``jumping,'' as in draughts. 4. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A large extinct bird (Pezophaps solitaria) which formerly inhabited the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigeuz. It was larger and taller than the wild turkey. Its wings were too small for flight. Called also solitary. (b) Any species of American thrushlike birds of the genus Myadestes. They are noted their sweet songs and retiring habits. Called also fly-catching thrush. A West Indian species (Myadestes sibilans) is called the invisible bird.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Solitary Sol"i*ta*ry, n. One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret; a hermit; a recluse.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. A person or animal that is solitary spends a lot of time alone. Paul was a shy, pleasant, solitary man... They often have a lonely and solitary life to lead. ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. A solitary activity is one that you do alone. His evenings were spent in solitary drinking. ADJ: ADJ n 3. A solitary person or object is alone, with no others near them. ...the occasional solitary figure making a study of wildflowers or grasses. = lone ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Lone, lonely, alone, unaccompanied, companionless. 2. Isolated, secluded, unfrequented, retired, deserted, remote, lonely, desert. 3. Dismal, gloomy, desolate, cheerless, lonesome, lonely, still, separate. 4. Single, sole, individual. II. n. Hermit, eremite, anchorite, anchoret, recluse, solitarian, solitaire.

Moby Thesaurus

Diogenes, Hieronymian, Hieronymite, Timon of Athens, a certain, abandoned, alien, alienated, all alone, alone, aloof, an, anchoress, anchorite, any, any one, apart, ascetic, atomic, bedridden invalid, case, character, cloistered, cloistered monk, closet cynic, companionless, crackpot, crank, desert fathers, desert saints, deserted, desolate, detached, distant, eccentric, either, eremite, eremitic, exclusive, fanatic, forsaken, friendless, hermit, hermitess, hermitical, hobo, homebody, homeless, in solitude, individual, indivisible, insociable, insular, integral, invalid, irreducible, isolated, isolationist, kithless, kook, lone, lone wolf, lonely, loner, lonesome, marabout, maverick, meshuggenah, misanthropic, monadic, monistic, natural, nonconformist, nut, odd fellow, oddball, oddity, offish, one, only, original, out-of-the-way, outcast, outsider, pariah, particular, pillar saint, pillarist, queer duck, queer fish, queer specimen, rara avis, recluse, reclusive, remote, removed, reserved, rootless, screwball, secluded, seclusionist, separate, separated, shut-in, simple, single, single-handed, singular, sole, solid, solitaire, solitudinarian, solo, standoffish, stay-at-home, stylite, tramp, type, unabetted, unaccompanied, unaided, unanalyzable, unapproachable, unassisted, unattended, uncompanionable, uncouth, undivided, unescorted, unexampled, unfrequented, uniform, unique, unitary, unrepeatable, unseconded, unsocial, unsupported, whole, withdrawn, zealot