adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈləʊnli/
General-American:/ˈloʊnli/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈləʉnli/
New-Zealand:/ˈlɐʉnli/
Caribbean, South-Asia:/ˈloːnli/
General-South-African:/ˈlœʊnli/
rhymes with -əʊnli
CMU ARPABET:L OW1 N L IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Unhappy due to feeling isolated from contact with other people.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Unfrequented by people; desolate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Without companions; solitary.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adjective satellite
Meaning 4
marked by dejection from being alone
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
felt sad and lonely
the loneliest night of the week
lonesome when her husband is away
spent a lonesome hour in the bar
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: lonesome
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective satellite
Meaning 5
devoid of creatures
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a lonely crossroads
a solitary retreat
a trail leading to an unfrequented lake
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: solitary, unfrequented
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From lone + -ly, or from an apheretic shortening of alonely. See lone.
Across languages
Translations
131 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Amharic:
ብቸኛ
(bəčäña)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Arabic:
وَحِيد
(waḥīd)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Arabic:
مُوحِش
(mūḥiš)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Armenian:
միայնակ
(miaynak)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Azerbaijani:
tənha
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Azerbaijani:
tək
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Azerbaijani:
yalnız
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Azerbaijani:
yalqız
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Azerbaijani:
fərd
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Bakhtiari:
تک
(tak)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Bashkir:
яңғыҙ
(yañğıź)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Belarusian:
само́тны
(samótny)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Belarusian:
адзіно́кі
(adzinóki)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Bengali:
একাকী
(ekaki)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Central Bikol:
makapungaw
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Bulgarian:
само́тен
(samóten)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Catalan:
solitari
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Chinese Mandarin:
寂寞
(jìmò)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Chinese Mandarin:
孤獨 /孤独
(gūdú)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Czech:
osamělý
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Danish:
ensom
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Dutch:
eenzaam
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Dutch:
alleen
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Dutch:
allenig
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Dutch:
alleenig
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Esperanto:
soleca
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Estonian:
üksildane
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Faroese:
einsamallur
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Faroese:
eina
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Faroese:
einsligur
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Faroese:
einsamur
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Finnish:
yksinäinen
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
French:
seul
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Galician:
solitario
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
German:
einsam
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
German:
alleinig
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Ancient Greek:
ἐρῆμος
(erêmos)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Hebrew:
גַּלְמוּד
(galmud)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Hindi:
अकेला
(akelā)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Hungarian:
magányos
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Hunsrik:
eensam
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Icelandic:
einmana
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Italian:
solo
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Italian:
solitario
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Italian:
malinconico
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Japanese:
寂しい
(sabishii)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Khmer:
អបមាន
(ʼɑɑpmiən)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Khmer:
កំព្រាចិត្ត
(kɑmpriəcettɑɑ)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Khmer:
អន្លង់អន្លោច
(ʼɑɑnlŭəngʼɑɑnlooc)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Korean:
외롭다
(oeropda)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Korean:
고독하다
(godokhada)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Central Kurdish:
تەنھا
(tenha)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Central Kurdish:
بێکەس
(bêkes)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Latin:
sōlitārius
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Lithuanian:
vienišas
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Macedonian:
осамен
(osamen)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Macedonian:
самотен
(samoten)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Malay:
kesunyian
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Malay:
kesepian
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Malay:
keseorangan
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Malay:
terpencil
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Malay:
sepi
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Manchu:
ᠯᠣᡴᡩᠣᡥᠣᠨ
(lokdohon)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Māori:
aroaroā
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Norwegian Bokmål:
ensom
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Norwegian Nynorsk:
einsam
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Old Prussian:
ainaseīlingis
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Persian:
تنها
(tanhâ)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Persian:
بیکس
(bi-kas)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Plautdietsch:
eensiedlich
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Polish:
samotny
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Portuguese:
solitário
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Russian:
одино́кий
(odinókij)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Scottish Gaelic:
aonaranach
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Scottish Gaelic:
uaigneach
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Serbo-Croatian:
у̀са̄мљен
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Serbo-Croatian:
ùsāmljen
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Slovak:
osamelý
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Slovene:
osamljen
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Spanish:
solitario
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Spanish:
solo
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Swedish:
ensam
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Tagalog:
nalalaiw
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Thai:
เหงา
(ngǎo)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Tibetan:
གྲོགས་མེད་གཅིག་རྐྱང
(grogs med gcig rkyang)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Turkish:
yalnız
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Turkish:
yapayalnız
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Turkish:
garip
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Turkish:
gariban
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Turkish:
kimsesiz
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Ottoman Turkish:
یالڭز
(yalñız)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Ukrainian:
само́тній
(samótnij)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Unami:
sinkòmàlsi
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Vietnamese:
cô đơn
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Vietnamese:
lẻ loi
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Yiddish:
עלנט
(elnt)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Yiddish:
איינזאַם
(eynzam)
— of person: unhappy by feeling isolated
Chinese Mandarin:
荒蕪 /荒芜
(huāngwú)
— of place: desolate
Chinese Mandarin:
人跡罕至 /人迹罕至
(rénjìhǎnzhì)
— of place: desolate
Chinese Mandarin:
孤寂
(gūjì)
— of place: desolate
Czech:
osamělý
— of place: desolate
Dutch:
afgelegen
— of place: desolate
Finnish:
autio
— of place: desolate
French:
désert
— of place: desolate
French:
abandonné
— of place: desolate
German:
abgeschieden
— of place: desolate
German:
einsam
— of place: desolate
German:
öde
— of place: desolate
German:
verlassen
— of place: desolate
Ancient Greek:
ἐρῆμος
(erêmos)
— of place: desolate
Italian:
desolato
— of place: desolate
Italian:
isolato
— of place: desolate
Khmer:
ឯកោ
(ʼaekao)
— of place: desolate
Khmer:
វិជនដ្ឋាន
(vĭchnôdthan)
— of place: desolate
Korean:
황량하다
(hwangnyanghada)
— of place: desolate
Malay:
terpencil
— of place: desolate
Norwegian Bokmål:
ensom
— of place: desolate
Portuguese:
isolado
— of place: desolate
Russian:
одино́кий
(odinókij)
— of place: desolate
Russian:
уединённый
(ujedinjónnyj)
— of place: desolate
Russian:
безлю́дный
(bezljúdnyj)
— of place: desolate
Scottish Gaelic:
aonaranach
— of place: desolate
Scottish Gaelic:
uaigneach
— of place: desolate
Serbo-Croatian:
ùsāmljen
— of place: desolate
Serbo-Croatian:
òsāmljen
— of place: desolate
Swedish:
öde
— of place: desolate
Thai:
รกร้าง
— of place: desolate
Turkish:
ıssız
— of place: desolate
Turkish:
tenha
— of place: desolate
Ukrainian:
відлю́дний
(vidljúdnyj)
— of place: desolate