Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Being apart from others; solitary.
  • adjective Being without anyone or anything else; only.
  • adjective Considered separately from all others of the same class.
  • adjective Being without equal; unique.
  • adverb Without others.
  • adverb Without help.
  • adverb Exclusively; only.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Apart from another or others; single or singly; solitary or solitarily; without the aid or company of another: applied to a person or thing: as, to be or remain alone; to walk alone.
  • Only; to the exclusion of other persons or things; sole or solely: as, he alone remained.
  • Without a parallel; above or beyond all others; unique.
  • Devoid; destitute.
  • In each of these examples only would now be considered better, though not alone for not only is in common use. Alone means unaccompanied: as, he stood alone. Only applies to that of which there is no other: as, an only son; adverbially, only this.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb Solely; simply; exclusively.
  • adjective Quite by one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solitary; -- applied to a person or thing.
  • adjective Of or by itself; by themselves; without any thing more or any one else; without a sharer; only.
  • adjective rare Sole; only; exclusive.
  • adjective Hence; Unique; rare; matchless.
  • adjective to abstain from interfering with or molesting; to suffer to remain in its present state.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective By one's self, solitary.
  • adjective Apart from, or exclusive of, others.
  • adjective Considered separately.
  • adjective Without equal.
  • adverb By one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo
  • adverb Without outside help.
  • adverb Exclusively.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb without anybody else or anything else
  • adverb without any others being included or involved
  • adjective exclusive of anyone or anything else
  • adjective lacking companions or companionship
  • adjective radically distinctive and without equal
  • adjective isolated from others

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English : al, all; see all + one, one; see one.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English al one ("alone", literally "all one"), contracted from the Old English phrase eall āna ("entirely alone, solitary, single"), equivalent to al- (“all”) +‎ one. Cognate with Scots allane ("alone"). Compare also West Frisian allinne ("alone"), Dutch alleen ("alone"), German allein ("alone"), Danish alene ("alone"). More at all, one.

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Examples

Comments

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  • aLONE. lONE

    April 26, 2008

  • Means "halo" in Italian.

    July 13, 2009

  • Al - O - Ne (aluminum, oxygen, neon)

    February 2, 2013