singular

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adjective

sin·gu·lar ˈsiŋ-gyə-lər

Synonyms of singular next

: of or relating to a separate person or thing : individual

: of, relating to, or being a word form denoting one person, thing, or instance

a singular noun

: of or relating to a single instance or to something considered by itself

: distinguished by superiority : exceptional

an artist of singular attainments

: being out of the ordinary : unusual

on the way home we had a singular adventure

: departing from general usage or expectation : peculiar, odd

the air had a singular chill

of a matrix : having a determinant equal to zero

of a linear transformation : having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero

singularly adverb

singular

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noun

: the singular number, the inflectional form denoting it, or a word in that form

: a singular term

Choose the Right Synonym for singular

strange, singular, unique, peculiar, eccentric, erratic, odd, quaint, outlandish mean departing from what is ordinary, usual, or to be expected.

strange stresses unfamiliarity and may apply to the foreign, the unnatural, the unaccountable.

a journey filled with strange sights

singular suggests individuality or puzzling strangeness.

a singular feeling of impending disaster

unique implies singularity and the fact of being without a known parallel.

a career unique in the annals of science

peculiar implies a marked distinctiveness.

the peculiar status of America's First Lady

eccentric suggests a wide divergence from the usual or normal especially in behavior.

the eccentric eating habits of preschoolers

erratic stresses a capricious and unpredictable wandering or deviating.

a friend's suddenly erratic behavior

odd applies to a departure from the regular or expected.

an odd sense of humor

quaint suggests an old-fashioned but pleasant oddness.

a quaint fishing village

outlandish applies to what is uncouth, bizarre, or barbaric.

outlandish fashions of the time

Examples of singular in a Sentence

Adjective In the phrase “his car is red,” the word “car” is a singular noun. He had a singular appearance.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In countries like Libya with no singular nationwide administration, where corruption is rife and public infrastructure is often an afterthought, efforts from prediction to prevention are made less reliable, analysts said. —

Ziad Jaber, NBC News, 21 Sep. 2023 These prices also differ on how many pills are prescribed to you and how strong a singular dose is. —

Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Sep. 2023 This was how Millz carved out a singular space in a crowded market. —

Jason Parham, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023 Condensing major event into a single sentence or drawing out a singular moment, untangling the richness of the emotion and sensation. —

Hazlitt, 13 Sep. 2023 Like Seth and Evan (Superbad) before them, Josie and PJ are on a singular mission: getting laid. —

Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 12 Sep. 2023 Chan, who won audience’s hearts by playing a goofy and delightful protagonist, would eventually come to represent a singular force for good, both onscreen and in real life. —

Jasper Lo, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2023 One singular video related to the theory has over 1.4 million views and has been bookmarked over 10,000 times. —

Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 12 Sep. 2023 The dichotomy of his corporate reach and downtown appeal makes Chavarria a singular force in the fashion industry. —

Devan Díaz, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2023

Noun

For the first two hours, audiences get Diaz’s singular take on a detective story, suspecting that there can be no satisfying resolution to such a case — or countless others in real life. —

Peter Debruge, Variety, 12 Aug. 2023 Down near the park, Susuru still sings for skewers, as does its new sibling, Juju — though each izakaya offers its own singular delights. —

Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2023 The former's singular, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel Behold the Dreamers concerns the collapse of Lehman Brothers; the latter has written three books centered largely on Pan-American communities. —

Seija Rankin, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2021 But the Jazz found the convincing means by which to keep the former singular and the latter plural, getting a second huge victory in three days. —

Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Aug. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'singular.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.