First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1solitary
adjective sol·i·tary \ˈsä-lə-ˌter-ē\
: without anyone or anything else : not involving or including anyone or anything else
: done by a person who is alone
: separate from other people or things
Full Definition of SOLITARY
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>
— sol·i·tar·i·ly \ˌsä-lə-ˈter-ə-lē\ adverb
— sol·i·tar·i·ness \ˈsä-lə-ˌter-ē-nəs\ noun
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Origin of SOLITARY
Middle English, solitarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin solitarius, from solitas aloneness, from solus alone
Related to SOLITARY
Synonym Discussion of SOLITARY
alone, solitary, lonely, lonesome, lone, forlorn, desolate mean isolated from others. alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms <everyone needs to be alone sometimes>. solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course <glorying in the calm of her solitary life> but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss <left solitary by the death of his wife>. lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship <felt lonely and forsaken>. lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy <an only child often leads a lonesome life>. lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone <a lone robin pecking at the lawn>. forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear <a forlorn lost child>. desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement <desolate after her brother's death>.
Rhymes with SOLITARY
actuary, adversary, airy-fairy, ancillary, antiquary, apiary, arbitrary, aviary, axillary, bacillary, beriberi, bestiary, biliary, black raspberry, Bloody Mary, boysenberry, breviary, budgetary, calamari, calamary, candleberry, Canterbury, capillary, carpellary, cassowary, catenary, cautionary, cavitary, cemetery, centenary, certiorari, checkerberry, chinaberry, cometary, commentary, commissary, condottiere, coralberry, corollary, coronary, culinary, customary, dictionary, dietary, dignitary, dromedary, dysentery, elderberry, emissary, estuary, farkleberry, February, formulary, fragmentary, fritillary, functionary, funerary, honorary, huckleberry, intermarry, janissary, January, lamasery, lapidary, lectionary, legendary, legionary, lingonberry, literary, loganberry, luminary, mammillary, mandatary, maxillary, medullary, mercenary, miliary, military, millenary, milliary, millinery, missionary, momentary, monastery, mortuary, necessary, ordinary, ossuary, partridgeberry, pensionary, pigmentary, planetary, Pondicherry, prebendary, presbytery, pulmonary, quaternary, red mulberry, reliquary, rowanberry, salivary, salmonberry, salutary, sanctuary, sanguinary, sanitary, secondary, secretary, sedentary, seminary, silverberry, sour cherry, stationary, stationery, statuary, subcontrary, sublunary, sugarberry, sumptuary, syllabary, temporary, tertiary, thimbleberry, Tipperary, Tom and Jerry, topiary, tributary, tutelary, Typhoid Mary, unitary, urinary, vestiary, Virgin Mary, visionary, voluntary, vulnerary, Waterbury, whortleberry, winterberry
2solitary
noun
plural solitar·ies
Definition of SOLITARY
1
: one who lives or seeks to live a solitary life : recluse
2
: solitary confinement in prison <put him in solitary>
See solitary defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of SOLITARY
15th century
SOLITARIES Defined for Kids
solitary
adjective sol·i·tary \ˈsä-lə-ˌter-ē\
Definition of SOLITARY for Kids
1
: all alone : without anyone or anything else <a solitary traveler>
2
: seldom visited : lonely <a solitary seashore>
3
: growing or living alone : not one of a group or cluster <solitary insects>
Medical Dictionary
solitary
adjective sol·i·tary \ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē\
Medical Definition of SOLITARY
: occurring singly and not as part of a group <a solitary lesion>
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