solitary

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. adj. Existing, living, or going without others; alone: a solitary traveler. See Synonyms at alone.
2. adj. Happening, done, or made alone: a solitary evening; solitary pursuits such as reading and sewing.
3. adj. Remote from civilization; secluded: a solitary retreat.
4. adj. Having no companions; lonesome or lonely.
5. adj. Zoology Living alone or in pairs only: solitary wasps; solitary sparrows.
6. adj. Single and set apart from others: a solitary instance of cowardice.
7. n. A person who lives alone; a recluse.
8. n. Solitary confinement.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. Living alone, or by one's self or by itself; without companions or associates; habitually inclined to avoid company.
2. All by one's self; without companions; unattended.
3. Marked by solitude; especially, remote from society; unfrequented; retired; secluded; lonely: as, a solitary glen.
4. Free from the sounds of human life; still; dismal.
5. Having a sense of loneliness; lonesome.
6. Retiring; diffident.
7. Passed without company; shared by no companions; lonely.
8. Single; sole; only, or only one: as, a solitary instance; a solitary example.
9. In botany, one only in a place; separate: as, a solitary stipule. A flower is said to be solitary when there is only one on each peduncle, or only one to each plant; a seed, when there is only one in a pericarp.
10. In anatomy, single; separate; not clustered; not agminate or gathered into patches; simple; not compound: as, the solitary follicles of the intestine.
11. In zoöl.:
12. Not social, sociable, or gregarious: noting species living habitually alone, or in pairs only.
13. Simple; not compound, aggregate, or colonial: as, solitary ascidians. See Simplices.
14. n. One who lives alone or in solitude; an anchorite; a recluse; a hermit.
15. In astronomy, noting certain stars which have no conspicuous neighbors (a Hydræ, for instance), or stars which are not members of a binary system, visual or spectroscopic. Called by W. Herschel intersystematical.

Wiktionary

1. n. One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret, hermit or recluse.
2. adj. Living or being by one's self; alone; having no companion present; being without associates.
3. adj. Performed, passed, or endured alone; as, a solitary journey; a solitary life.
4. adj. Not much visited or frequented; remote from society; retired; as, a solitary residence or place.
5. adj. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal; as, the solitary desert.
6. adj. Single; individual; sole.
7. adj. Not associated with others of the same kind.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. adj. Living or being by one's self; having no companion present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely.
2. adj. Performed, passed, or endured alone.
3. adj. Not much visited or frequented; remote from society; retired; lonely.
4. adj. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal.
5. adj. Single; individual; sole.
6. adj. (Bot.) Not associated with others of the same kind.
7. n. One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret; a hermit; a recluse.

WordNet 3.0

1. adj. being the only one; single and isolated from others
2. adj. of plants and animals; not growing or living in groups or colonies
3. adj. lacking companions or companionship
4. n. one who lives in solitude
5. n. confinement of a prisoner in isolation from other prisoners
6. adj. devoid of creatures
7. adj. characterized by or preferring solitude