Solitary Meaning
/ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.
nounEllipsis of solitary confinement.
Sentence Examples
He likes to take a solitary walk.
I like a solitary walk.
She lives a solitary life in a remote part of Scotland.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dangerous prisoner was placed in a ____ cell away from all other inmates.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ figure could be seen walking slowly along the empty beach as the sun began to set.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 24:
"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"
— 2003, “Weak and Powerless”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
"You must wonder why I'm relentless and all strung out/I'm consumed by the chill of solitary"
— 1995, Alanis Morissette, “All I Really Want”, in Jagged Little Pill:
"The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll."
— 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020, page 55:
"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."
— 2014 February 14, Bonnie Tsui, “The Self-Reflecting Pool”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2021:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dangerous prisoner was placed in a ____ cell away from all other inmates.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ figure could be seen walking slowly along the empty beach as the sun began to set.