solitary

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solitary^¹

/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ UK
/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈsɒlət(ə)ɹi/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ Atlantic Canada, US
/ˈsɑləˌtɛɹi/ Atlantic Canada, US
/ˈsɒlɪˌtɛɹi/ Canada
/ˈsɒləˌtɛɹi/ Canada

Where it comes from

From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.

noun solitaries

countable One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse. He brooded and intrigued fantastically. He was becoming one of the big-time solitaries. And he wasn't meant to be a solitary. He was meant to be in active life, a social creature.
Similar: aloner, anchoret, anchorite, eremite, hermit, Miller of Dee, monk, recluse, shut-in, solitary, sullen
abbreviation, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of solitary confinement The prisoners who started the riot were moved to solitary.
uncountable The state of being solitary; solitude You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out/I'm consumed by the chill of solitary

adjective

not comparable Living or being by oneself; alone; having no companion present 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.
Similar: by oneself, on one's own, seclusive
not comparable Performed, passed, or endured alone. a solitary journey
Similar: solo
not comparable Not much visited or frequented; remote from society a solitary residence or place
Similar: deavely, lonely, unfrequented, unvisited
not comparable Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted the solitary desert
Similar: peopleless, wasteful, beingless, desert, deserted, howling, desolate, disinhabited, inhabitantless, inhabited, lifeless, solitary
not comparable Gloomy; dismal, because of not being inhabited.
Similar: desolate, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, morose, depressing, dire, disconsolate, dismal, doleful, dolesome
not comparable Single; individual; sole. a solitary example
Similar: lone, singular, individual, first and last, one, one and only, only, single, sole, solitary, unitary
not comparable Not associated with others of the same kind.

solitary^²

/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ UK
/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈsɒlət(ə)ɹi/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ Atlantic Canada, US
/ˈsɑləˌtɛɹi/ Atlantic Canada, US
/ˈsɒlɪˌtɛɹi/ Canada
/ˈsɒləˌtɛɹi/ Canada

noun

archaic Archaic form of solitaire (“Rodrigues solitaire”).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: eremitic, lone, alone, only, lonesome, lonely, single, sole, nongregarious, nonsocial, ungregarious, unsocial, inaccessible, unaccompanied, unaccessible, unfrequented

Translations

Every language

noun one who lives alone

Español	solitario
日本語	独居者 dokkyosha, 隠者 inja
中文	隱士 /隐士 yǐnshì
Português	solitário
Français	solitaire
Deutsch	Einsiedler, Einsiedlerin
Ελληνικά	μονήρης moníris
Русский	отше́льник otšélʹnik, затво́рник zatvórnik

adj living alone or being by oneself

Español	solitario
日本語	独居の dokkyo-no
中文	獨居 /独居 dújū
Português	solitário, só
Français	solitaire, seul
Deutsch	alleinstehend, einsiedlerisch
Ελληνικά	μοναχικός monachikós
Русский	одино́кий odinókij
Tiếng Việt	đơn độc

adj performed, passed, or endured alone

日本語	単独の
中文	獨自 /独自 dúzì, 單獨 /单独 dāndú
Português	solitário
Deutsch	einsam
Русский	одиночный odinočnyj

adj not much visited or frequented; remote from society

日本語	孤立した koritsu-shita
中文	獨處 /独处 dúchǔ
Português	solitário
Deutsch	abgeschieden, verlassen
Русский	уединённый ujedinjónnyj

adj not inhabited or occupied

日本語	無人の mujin-no

adj single; individual; sole

日本語	単一の tan'itsu-no
中文	孤單 /孤单 gūdān, 孤零零 gūlínglíng
Português	solitário, só
Ελληνικά	μονήρης moníris
Русский	едини́чный jediníčnyj

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Cite this

MLA

"solitary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/solitary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

solitary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/solitary

Chicago

"solitary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/solitary.

BibTeX

@misc{solitary_2026,
  title = {solitary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/solitary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}