noun · 3 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.
UK:/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹɪnəs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S AA0 L AH0 T EH1 R IY0 N IH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The state or quality of being solitary.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: aloneness, loneliness, lonesomeness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: disposition, temperament
Narrower terms: friendlessness, reclusiveness
3
noun
Meaning 3
the state of being alone in solitary isolation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: loneliness
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: isolation
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English solitary Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English solitariness From solitary + -ness.
Across languages
Translations
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
French:
solitarisme
— state or quality of being solitary
German:
Einsamkeit
— state or quality of being solitary
German:
Einsiedlerdasein
— state or quality of being solitary
Irish:
aonaránacht
— state or quality of being solitary
Manx:
lomarcanys
— state or quality of being solitary
Manx:
neuheshoilys
— state or quality of being solitary
Manx:
fadaneys
— state or quality of being solitary
Swedish:
ensamhet
— state or quality of being solitary