lonely

adjective lone·ly \ ˈlōn-lē \

Definition of lonely

lonelier; loneliest

1 a :being without company :lone

too many lonely nights at home

b :cut off from others :solitary

the train stopped frequently at lonely little stations
—Robert Hichens

2 :not frequented by human beings :desolate

a lonely spot in the woods

3 :sad from being alone :lonesome

He was feeling lonely without his wife and children.

4 :producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation

it's a lonely thing to be a champion
—G. B. Shaw

—

loneliness

play \ˈlōn-lē-nəs\ noun

See lonely defined for English-language learners

See lonely defined for kids

Examples of lonely in a Sentence

He was lonely without his wife and children.
She was a lonely child with few friends.
It was lonely living out in the country.
She spent too many lonely nights at home.
She had a lonely childhood.
a lonely spot in the woods
a lonely stretch of road

Recent Examples of lonely from the Web

Joyce Wong - A dark comedy about a lonely female security guard who works at a dilapidated strip mall.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "Critical darling 'Mudbound' to headline 2017 New Orleans Film Festival," 22 Aug. 2017
And a beautiful woman who is not wearing a ball gown and diamond, but is wearing chinos and body armor doing a lonely walk through an area that and who was being cleared of mines.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Why Princess Diana's Fight Against Landmines Was So Groundbreaking," 18 Aug. 2017
Schautzie has been lonely since losing both her lifelong companions and misses being in her own home.

— susan green, OregonLive.com, "Portland-area pets for adoption Aug. 15 (photos)," 15 Aug. 2017
Is there a tree somewhere falling in a lonely forest?

— gregg doyel, Indianapolis Star, "Doyel: The only thing that's clear about the Colts' QB situation? It's not Kaepernick," 13 Aug. 2017
And her characters, particularly the detective and sad, lonely Claire, come to life on the page.

— moira macdonald, The Seattle Times, "Whodunit? 3 compelling new murder mysteries — all with something you didn’t see coming," 27 July 2017
Tuesday nights have sure become lonely without Pretty Little Liars, but some fans think Lucy Hale might be headed to another popular TV series: Riverdale.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Lucy Hale Comments on Madelaine Petsch's Instagram," 17 July 2017
Combat, for me at least, has always seemed like a terrifying and lonely place.

— andrew katz, TIME.com, "‘My mind will stay there forever’," 17 July 2017
GOSTKOWSKI’S HEAD GAMES: How his career as a collegiate pitcher helped steel him for the loneliest job in the NFL.

— robert klemko, The MMQB, "How does Tim Tebow compare up to other two-sport minor leaguers?," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lonely.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of lonely

circa 1598

lonely Synonyms

Synonyms

lone, alone, lonesome, single, solitary, solo, unaccompanied

Antonyms

accompanied

Near Antonyms

attended, chaperoned, escorted; adjacent, adjoining, communicating, contiguous, neighboring, next-door; attached, connected, coupled, linked

Synonym Discussion of lonely

alone, solitary, lonely, lonesome, lone, forlorn, desolate mean isolated from others. alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms.

- everyone needs to be alone sometimes

solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course

- glorying in the calm of her solitary life

but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

- left solitary by the death of his wife

lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

- felt lonely and forsaken

lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

- an only child often leads a lonesome life

lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone.

- a lone robin pecking at the lawn

forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

- a forlorn lost child

desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

- desolate after her brother's death

LONELY Defined for English Language Learners

lonely

adjective

Definition of lonely for English Language Learners

: sad from being apart from other people
: causing sad feelings that come from being apart from other people
: not visited by or traveled on by many people

LONELY Defined for Kids

lonely

adjective lone·ly \ ˈlōn-lē \

Definition of lonely for Students

lonelier; loneliest

1 :lone 1

I saw a lonely figure in the distance.

2 :not often visited

a lonely spot

3 :sad from being alone :lonesome

a lonely child

4 :producing sad feelings from being alone

I spent a lonely evening at home.

—

loneliness

noun

Learn More about lonely

See words that rhyme with lonely Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for lonely Spanish Central: Translation of lonely Nglish: Translation of lonely for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lonely for Arabic speakers

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lonely

Definition of lonely

loneliness

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Examples of lonely in a Sentence

Recent Examples of lonely from the Web

First Known Use of lonely

lonely Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of lonely

Phrases Related to LONELY

Related Phrases

LONELY Defined for English Language Learners

lonely

Definition of lonely for English Language Learners

LONELY Defined for Kids

lonely

Definition of lonely for Students

loneliness

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