solitude

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (2)  · 

View all »Definitions (11)

American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The state or quality of being alone or remote from others.
  2. noun A lonely or secluded place.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: solitude, isolation, seclusion, retirement
    These nouns denote the state of being alone. Solitude implies the absence of all others: "The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship” (Francis Bacon). "I love tranquil solitude” (Percy Bysshe Shelley).
    Isolation emphasizes total separation or detachment from others: "the isolation of Crusoe, depicted by Defoe's genius” (Winston Churchill).
    Seclusion suggests removal, though not necessarily complete inaccessibility; the term often connotes a withdrawal from social contact: enjoyed my walk in the seclusion of the woods.
    Retirement suggests a withdrawal or retreat from active life, as for serenity or privacy: "an elegant sufficiency, content,/Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books” (James Thomson).

View all » Examples

  • In the next movement the solitude is all dispelled. —  The Great Italian and French Composers
  • I knew he was here for me, probably to take me somewhere that I didn't want to go. —  Pop Goes The Weasel
  • Young man, solitude is the nectar of individuality. —  When The Bough Breaks
  • Otherwise the solitude is absolute. —  The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
  • It seemed that his solitude was at an end. —  Tales of Ten Worlds
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

Solitude has been looked up 618 times, favorited 5 times, listed 52 times, commented on twice, and has a Scrabble score of 9.

On Twitter

Photos from

spinner

View all »Etymologies (3)

American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sōlitūdō, from sōlus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.

WordNet

 

Record your own »
Pronunciations

/ (sŏlˈĭ-to͞odˌ, -tyo͞odˌ)/
by American Heritage Dictionary

Charts

Occurrences of the word "solitude" per million words:

Chart?cht=lc&chs=300x180&chg=14

Recent Lookups

Actinophryina · Sustinere · Jornada · abaci · swivet · internationals · bone-idle · m­ost · Wild Rice River · quibbleism

Recent Favorites

sublunary · cruciverbalist · scapegoat · donnybrook · trepverter · treppenwitz · recant · cruciverbalism · Apropos · alpenglow

Recent Pronunciations

you're something of a hotdog, aren't you · hypermiling · gendarmes · compost · pronounced limp · eucatastrophe · crafty · road rash · mountain chickadee · Dario Baldan Bembo