sol·i·tary
ˈsä-lə-ˌter-ē 
1
a
: being, living, or going alone or without companions
b
: saddened by isolation
2
: unfrequented, desolate
a solitary seashore
3
a
: taken, passed, or performed without companions
a solitary ramble
b
: keeping a prisoner apart from others
solitary confinement
4
: being at once single and isolated
a solitary example
5
a
: occurring singly and not as part of a group or cluster
flowers terminal and solitary
b
: not gregarious, colonial, social, or compound
solitary bees
plural solitaries
1
: one who lives or seeks to live a solitary life : recluse
2
: solitary confinement in prison
put him in solitary
Synonyms
Examples of solitary in a Sentence
Adjective
He took a solitary walk on the beach.
A solitary house stood on top of the cliff.
Most cats are solitary creatures.
He's a very solitary man.
Noun
The prisoner was kept in solitary.
weary of European civilization, the painter Paul Gauguin famously abandoned France to become a solitary in the South Seas
Recent Examples on the Web
Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
That’s unfortunate, because the two Niger EPs, filled with live and alternate versions of songs from across Moctar’s catalog, recorded in his home country at various dates between 2017 and the present, are otherwise joyous, communal, and inviting, with much more to offer than solitary noodling.
—Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 26 Mar. 2024
High above the boreal forest, solitary sentinels survey dramatic and awe-inspiring landscapes as a critical first line of defense in wildfire detection.
—Jennie Punter, Variety, 26 Mar. 2024
Final Thoughts The journey of entrepreneurship is not a solitary one, but a collaborative effort fueled by the support and guidance of those who believe in your vision.
—Stephanie Dillon, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024
Ellis made the long, solitary walk to the bench before slapping hands with teammates, taking a seat and burying his face in his hands.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
In 2019, the German government recorded a loneliness crisis in Berlin, with solitary people living in one out of every two homes.
—Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024
In the past year, however, she’s taken on two projects that are not solitary journeys at all.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024
As Max got older, his explorations grew more solitary, which led me to a new worry: that his interests were pulling him away from his fellow humans rather than toward them.
—Paul Tough, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
The changes allow inmates in solitary to participate in additional rehabilitative programming and shave time off their isolation by earning credits.
—Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
The Rules of Seclusion In 2016, a suit in Rutherford County challenged the use of solitary confinement in the juvenile detention center after a child was kept in solitary for days for disrupting class.
—Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023
The state promised the kids wouldn’t be held in solitary.
—María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023
Not every state keeps its death-row population in solitary.
—Keri Blakinger, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
Four pairs of slippers had appeared outside a cell two down from me, hinting at four inmates who most likely had just come out of solitary to be kept in a large cell together.
—Hossein Derakhshan, WIRED, 21 July 2023
One man was taken to solitary to pressure him to end his hunger strike.
—María Inés Taracena, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
Guilt, confession, penitence — this legacy vocabulary of criminal justice calls back to a time when confinement was about reform and salvation, before modern punishment turned exclusively on physical torture, the amateur savagery of shower-rape jokes, random beat-downs, the cruelty of solitary.
—New York Times, 7 June 2022
Adjective
Forget the stereotype of the solitary spinster, muttering to a clowder of cats, a lonely old lady whose only friends are feline and whose connection with the outside world is tenuous at best.
—Phaedra Trethan, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2024
That’s unfortunate, because the two Niger EPs, filled with live and alternate versions of songs from across Moctar’s catalog, recorded in his home country at various dates between 2017 and the present, are otherwise joyous, communal, and inviting, with much more to offer than solitary noodling.
—Eric Torres, Pitchfork, 26 Mar. 2024
High above the boreal forest, solitary sentinels survey dramatic and awe-inspiring landscapes as a critical first line of defense in wildfire detection.
—Jennie Punter, Variety, 26 Mar. 2024
Final Thoughts The journey of entrepreneurship is not a solitary one, but a collaborative effort fueled by the support and guidance of those who believe in your vision.
—Stephanie Dillon, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024
Ellis made the long, solitary walk to the bench before slapping hands with teammates, taking a seat and burying his face in his hands.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
In 2019, the German government recorded a loneliness crisis in Berlin, with solitary people living in one out of every two homes.
—Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2024
In the past year, however, she’s taken on two projects that are not solitary journeys at all.
—Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2024
As Max got older, his explorations grew more solitary, which led me to a new worry: that his interests were pulling him away from his fellow humans rather than toward them.
—Paul Tough, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024
Noun
Former convicts also said that men in solitary had to put away their beds from waking call to sleep time, forcing them to stand or sit for most of the day.
—Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
The changes allow inmates in solitary to participate in additional rehabilitative programming and shave time off their isolation by earning credits.
—Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024
The Rules of Seclusion In 2016, a suit in Rutherford County challenged the use of solitary confinement in the juvenile detention center after a child was kept in solitary for days for disrupting class.
—Paige Pfleger, ProPublica, 16 Nov. 2023
The state promised the kids wouldn’t be held in solitary.
—María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2023
Not every state keeps its death-row population in solitary.
—Keri Blakinger, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
Four pairs of slippers had appeared outside a cell two down from me, hinting at four inmates who most likely had just come out of solitary to be kept in a large cell together.
—Hossein Derakhshan, WIRED, 21 July 2023
One man was taken to solitary to pressure him to end his hunger strike.
—María Inés Taracena, The New Republic, 12 Apr. 2023
Guilt, confession, penitence — this legacy vocabulary of criminal justice calls back to a time when confinement was about reform and salvation, before modern punishment turned exclusively on physical torture, the amateur savagery of shower-rape jokes, random beat-downs, the cruelty of solitary.
—New York Times, 7 June 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'solitary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, solitarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin solitarius, from solitas aloneness, from solus alone
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of solitary was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing solitary
Dictionary Entries Near solitary
Cite this Entry
“Solitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solitary. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
solitary
1 of 2 adjective
sol·i·tary
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē
1
: all alone
a solitary traveler
2
: seldom visited : lonely
3
: being the only one : sole
solitary example
4
: growing or living alone : not forming part of a group or cluster
flowers at the end of the stalk and solitary
the solitary wasps
solitarily
adverb
ˌsäl-ə-ˈter-ə-lē
solitariness
noun
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē-nəs
Medical Definition
solitary
adjective
sol·i·tary
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē
: occurring singly and not as part of a group
a solitary lesion
More from Merriam-Webster on solitary
Nglish: Translation of solitary for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of solitary for Arabic Speakers
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