Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Dejected by the awareness of being alone. synonym: alone.
- adjective Producing such dejection.
- adjective Without others of a similar kind; lone; solitary.
- adjective Unfrequented by people; desolate.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Unfrequented by men; solitary; desolate: as, a lonely situation.
- Lacking association or companionship; solitary; standing apart physically or mentally.
- Sad or dejected from want of companionship or sympathy; forsaken; forlorn.
- Synonyms Lone, unfrequented, secluded, dreary.
- Lonesome, companionless.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Sequestered from company or neighbors; solitary; retired
- adjective Alone, or in want of company; forsaken.
- adjective Not frequented by human beings.
- adjective Having a feeling of depression or sadness resulting from the consciousness of being alone; lonesome.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of person,
unhappy byfeelings ofloneliness . - adjective Of place,
unfrequented bypeople ;desolate . - adjective Of person,
without companions ;solitary .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective devoid of creatures
- adjective lacking companions or companionship
- adjective characterized by or preferring solitude
- adjective marked by dejection from being alone
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I wish you could have a number one and be on top of the world, but you've heard the term lonely at the top.
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I wish you could have a number one and be on top of the world, but you've heard the term lonely at the top.
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According to Google Trends, "lonely" is the word entered most frequently by Internet users in Dublin, Ireland.
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Telling people to go waste their money on a Bible with the promise of gold-paved streets if they cooporate, and threatening those that don't with eternal and unbearable burning in lonely darkness is ridiculous.
They're Alive: Real Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies
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Telling people to go waste their money on a Bible with the promise of gold-paved streets if they cooporate, and threatening those that don't with eternal and unbearable burning in lonely darkness is ridiculous.
They're Alive: Real Scientific Reasons to Believe in Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies » E-Mail
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For the mere human need, for the sake of that which to the lonely is very dear, I have thought of marriage, but I remembered and I refused to do violence to myself remembering.
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I used to indulge in lonely debauches, on nights when I knew my crew was going to sleep ashore.
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That's the only time I'm lonely, is when I go to 'Frisco.
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Additionally, Ludwig Feuerbach, a German philosopher, has been described as a lonely figure whose loneliness ‘was the product of an unsatisfied intellectual vanity.’
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Additionally, Ludwig Feuerbach, a German philosopher, has been described as a lonely figure whose loneliness ‘was the product of an unsatisfied intellectual vanity.’
tbtabby commented on the word lonely
Coriolanus, Act 4, Scene 1:
"I go alone, / Like to a lonely dragon."
September 2, 2009
bilby commented on the word lonely
Lonely, and being alone, are not the same thing.
April 10, 2010
bilby commented on the word lonely
You really need a dictionary to define loneliness for you? You've had a nice life, well done.
April 10, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word lonely
"I was never lonely... neither when I was alone, nor with others. But I would have liked to be alone at last. Loneliness means I'm finally whole. Now I can say it... as tonight I'm at last alone."
- from Marion's Declaration of Love in the movie Wings of Desire
April 10, 2010
agatehinge commented on the word lonely
To me lonely has a sense of yearning while alone does not.
April 10, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word lonely
I can see a difference between alone (being by yourself) and lonely (feeling far from those you love, or not having anyone). In Italian, I would use solo for the former and da solo for the latter.
April 10, 2010
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word lonely
Does da have a separate meaning? Or does it just add to solo?
The first definition (according to the American Heritage Dictionary) is 'without companions; lone'. You could be in a room chock full of people and not have a single companion.
And even if you did, but had no connection with them you are still in a sense, alone and may very well be lonely.
April 11, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word lonely
"Da" literally means "from", but in this case it's more like "by" in "all by myself".
April 11, 2010