solitary

noun

/ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/US/ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/UK

Etymology

From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.

derived from sōlitārius
inherited from solitarie

Definitions

1
One who lives alone, or in solitude
One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
- He brooded and intrigued fantastically. He was becoming one of the big-time solitaries. And he wasn't meant to be a solitary. He was meant to be in active life, a social creature.
- Tilling my own grave to keep me level Jam another dragon down the hole Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren One that pushes me along and leaves me so Desperate and ravenous
2
Ellipsis of solitary confinement.
- The prisoners who started the riot were moved to solitary.
3
The state of being solitary
The state of being solitary; solitude
- You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out/I'm consumed by the chill of solitary
›+ 8 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  Living or being by oneself
  Living or being by oneself; alone; having no companion present
  - Though we don’t all reach nirvana when we swim, swimming may well be that last refuge from connectivity — and, for some, the only way to find the solitary self.
2. 5
  Performed, passed, or endured alone.
  - a solitary journey
  - a solitary life
3. 6
  Not much visited or frequented
  Not much visited or frequented; remote from society
  - a solitary residence or place
4. 7
  Not inhabited or occupied
  Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted
  - the solitary desert
  - How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!
  - Eldridge closed the despatch-case with a snap and, rising briskly, walked down the corridor to his solitary table in the dining-car.
5. Gloomy
  Gloomy; dismal, because of not being inhabited.
6. 9
  Single
  Single; individual; sole.
  - a solitary example
7. Not associated with others of the same kind.
8. Archaic form of solitaire (“Rodrigues solitaire”).

The neighborhood

Derived

nonsolitary, semisolitary, solitarily, solitariness, solitary confinement, solitary sandpiper, solitary snipe, solitary thrush, solitary tinamou, solitary vice, solitary wasp, solitary wave, soliton, unsolitary

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at solitary. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at solitary. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at solitary

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA