Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The state or quality of being alone or remote from others.
- n. A lonely or secluded place.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The state of being alone; a lonely life; loneliness.
- n. Remoteness from society; lack or utter want of companionship: applied to place: as, the solitude of a wood or a valley.
- n. A lonely, secluded, or unfrequented place; a desert.
- n. Synonyms Solitude, Retirement, Seclusion, Loneliness, Lonesomeness. Solitude is the condition of being absolutely alone, whether or not one has been with others, or desires to escape from them: as, the solitude of the Sphinx. Retirement is comparative solitude, produced by retiring, voluntarily or otherwise, from contact which one has had with others. Seclusion is stronger than retirement, implying the shutting out of others from access: after the Restoration Milton for safety's sake kept himself in retirement; indeed, except to a few trusted friends, he was in complete seclusion. Loneliness expresses the uncomfortable feelings, the longing for society, of one who is alone. Lonesomeness may be a lighter kind of loneliness, especially a feeling less spiritual than physical, growing out of the animal instinct for society and the desire of protection, the consciousness of being alone: as, the lonesomeness of a walk through a cemetery at night. Lonesomeness, more often than loneliness, may express the impression made upon the observer.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. state of being alone, or withdrawn from society; a lonely life; loneliness.
- n. Remoteness from society; destitution of company; seclusion; -- said of places.
- n. solitary or lonely place; a desert or wilderness.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a state of social isolation
- n. a solitary place
- n. the state or situation of being alone
Etymologies
- From Old French solitude (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sōlitūdō, from sōlus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But if he returned to solitude, it was henceforth to be as the French say, a _solitude à deux_.”
“She must have had naturally a strong appetite, which her active life sharpened, and its indulgence formed a sort of refuge from the pressure of the intense solitude in which she lived, and which was all the more a solitude because it was _solitude à deux_.”
“The word solitude was created to express the glory of being alone.”
“And it has created the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.”
“Like the previous two, his solitude is our saving grace.”
Top Ten Movie Villains of All Time | Heretical Ideas Magazine
“In the countryside of Finland, solitude is a national pastime”
“We are drawn to ideas, we are passionate observers, and for us, solitude is rich and generative.”
“She learns that she can feel happiness in solitude (at least for a period of time), but finds her ultimate contentment in an intimate relationship with a man.”
“However, solitude is a state of mind, rather than an environmental state and one that writers especially should be expert in realizing, yet are some of the last to embrace.”
“A: As with many of the characters from my first book, solitude is a basic fact of Charlotte's life.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘solitude’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
October 2011
serendipity, grateful, irritable, punchy, twitchy, reverence, solitude, levity, nubble, sojourn, Eden, quesadilla and 19 more...
-
Vocab2
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
Creative List
Words that evoke creativity
creativity, accidental, serendipity, chance, innocence, child, imagination, intuition, Steve jobs, Michaelangelo, Bach, Escher and 28 more...
-
Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 3063 more... -
SAT Vocab
Redundant.
problematic, proclivity, prodigal, prodigious, prodigy, profane, profligate, profound, profusion, proliferation, prolific, prologue and 455 more...
-
vocabs
to learn
fond, fuss, unhinged, syndication, mayhem, invoke, nostalgia, bizarre, blatantly, condemn, comrade, captivity and 89 more...
-
Diversified Obsessions
calendars, running, music, men, friends, motherhood, art, food, solitude, connection, drama, humor and 117 more...
-
ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
-
Vocab 2
Vocab from lesson 2.
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
vocab2
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
Cool Words
Words that are awesome to use, if you can find a good place in a sentence to use them!
asunder, zero, scarecrow, chronic, crooked, aftermath, aquatic, karma, deadpan, devil, berserker, bibliotaph and 32 more...
-
vocabulary; lesson #2.
My Wordly Wise vocabulary lesson 2 word list.
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
Lesson 2
Lesson 2 vocab list
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
lesson 2
vocabulary
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
-
Vocab Lesson 2: Kyle Zelenitz
astute, authentic, delicacy, derogatory, devour, figment, mythical, plumage, predatory, prior, scavenge, slaughter and 3 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for solitude.

ruzuzu Wanted: solitude-seeking sentry with a "shine" for sparkly shorelines. Some light housekeeping duties required. Sep 15, 2010
jacksd A person that likes solitude would be a great light house keeper! Sep 15, 2010
PossibleUnderscore She was not accustomed to taste the joys of solitude except in company . . .
-Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth Jul 26, 2009
whichbe "Solitude scares me. It makes me think about love, death, and war. I need distraction from anxious, black thoughts." -- Brigitte Bardot May 29, 2008