Definition
adjBy oneself, solitary., Not involved in a romantic relationship.
Sentence Examples
It's because you don't want to be alone.
Every person who is alone is alone because they are afraid of others.
Tom is not alone in finding Rick hard to work with.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós
Proto-Germanic *allaz
Proto-West Germanic *all
Old English eall
Proto-Indo-European *ís?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos
Proto-Germanic *ainaz
Proto-West Germanic *ain
Old English ān
Old English eall ān
Middle English all oon
Middle English allone
English alone
From Middle English allone, from earlier all oon (literally “all one”), contracted from the Old English phrase eall ān (“completely alone”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + one. Cognate with Scots alane (“alone”), Saterland Frisian alleene (“alone”), West Frisian allinne (“alone”), Dutch alleen (“alone”), Low German alleen (“alone”), German allein (“alone”), Danish alene (“alone”), Swedish allena (“alone”). More at all and one. For the different phonological development of alone and one, see the note in one.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is not good that the man should be alone."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis ii:18:
"Alone on a wide, wide sea."
— 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
"When Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. special forces during a historic raid in his native homeland, he wasn't alone. His wife, Cilia Flores, was also detained."
— 2026 January 5, Callum Sutherland, “Who Is Cilia Flores? What to Know About Maduro’s Wife Amid Fall of Venezuela's First Couple”, in TIME, archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026:
"Hungary's leader is not alone in eastern and southern Europe, where democratically elected populist strongmen increasingly dominate, deploying the power of the state and a battery of instruments of intimidation to crush dissent, demonise opposition, tame the media and tailor the system to their ends."
— 2013 August 23, Ian Traynor, “Rise of Europe's new autocrats”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 1:
"If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by it all, you’re not alone."
— 2021 September 8, Ekua Hagan, “5 Ways to Restore Our Hope”, in Psychology Today: