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alone

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adjective

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an alone time
a solitary time
a private time
a secluded time
a personal time
an alone group
a solitary group
an individual group
a separated group
a singular group
a separate group
an alone entity
a solo entity
a complete entity
a sole entity
an unique entity
a single entity
an alone system
a solo system
a solitary system
an individual system
an independent system
a separate system
an alone product
a single product
a complete product
a separate product
an independent product
a whole product

Synonym Chooser

How is the word alone distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of alone are desolate, forlorn, lonely, lonesome, lone, and solitary. While all these words 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

When can desolate be used instead of alone?

The meanings of desolate and alone largely overlap; however, desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

desolate after her brother's death

When is forlorn a more appropriate choice than alone?

In some situations, the words forlorn and alone are roughly equivalent. However, forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

a forlorn lost child

How does the word lone relate to other synonyms for alone?

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

a lone robin pecking at the lawn

How do lonely and solitary relate to one another, in the sense of alone?

Lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

felt lonely and forsaken

In what contexts can lonesome take the place of alone?

The words lonesome and alone can be used in similar contexts, but lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

an only child often leads a lonesome life

When could solitary be used to replace alone?

While in some cases nearly identical to alone, solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course, but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

glorying in the calm of her solitary life
left solitary by the death of his wife

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of alone
Adverb
The new EREVs can travel more than 100 miles on batteries alone, then hundreds more using gasoline. Joe D'allegro, CNBC, 30 May 2025 The re-recordings became immensely successful as well; 1989 (Taylor’s Version) managed to sell 1.3 million units in the first week alone, besting 1989’s debut from a decade prior, even as record sales have fallen since then amid the streaming era. Ethan Millman, HollywoodReporter, 30 May 2025
Adjective
A couple of years later, Dean is forced to leave Lucia, alone and pregnant, to go back to New Jersey. Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 28 May 2025 Arya’s dad, Jeremy Lebeau, said his daughter had stayed at the friend’s house previously and only heard the children were home alone after the fatal incident, according to WCVB. Sam Gillette, People.com, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for alone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alone
Adverb
  • Overall, Mercedes only scored 18 points in those three weeks, all of which came via Russell, and now, Ferrari has passed it for second in the constructors standings.
    Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 2 June 2025
  • The European Union supplies only nonlethal equipment.
    Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Adjective
  • Set in a town ruled by absurd karate law, the film watches as a lonely teen forms an unlikely bond with the ghost of his late father’s favorite action hero.
    Matt Grobar, Deadline, 27 May 2025
  • If there was no Stitch, Lilo would have remained a lonely girl, and Nani silently suffering from her massive responsibilities.
    Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 26 May 2025
Adjective
  • Drinkwater didn't make one appearance in a Chelsea shirt last season, whilst Bakayoko spent the season in Italy on loan at AC Milan.
    SI.com, SI.com, 3 Aug. 2019
  • Decisions made by engineers today, in other words, will determine not how one car drives but how all cars drive.
    Johannes Himmelreich, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Mar. 2018
Adverb
  • Earlier death tolls given separately by regional authorities and rescuers had put the number of dead at 13.
    Reuters, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2025
  • That’s more beneficial than selling the investment and paying taxes on the gain while separately writing a check to charity.
    Bob Carlson, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
Adverb
  • But the problem is the quality of education that the students receive, when they are rushed through the pipeline, with no time to focus on themselves, solely concentrated on productivity and employability, to pay back their debt.
    Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 1 June 2025
  • With an Apple account solely dedicated to your Apple TV box and Apple TV hardware and software tracking disabled as much as possible, Apple would have minimal data to ascribe to you as an Apple TV owner.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 1 June 2025
Adjective
  • Brennan Johnson scored the lone goal in the 42nd minute after an incidental deflection off Manchester United’s Luke Shaw, sending Spurs to next season’s Champions League.
    Marcus D. Smith, Sacbee.com, 23 May 2025
  • The lone goal could be almost directly attributed to it.
    Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 23 May 2025
Adverb
  • Every department, every person in the show, every actor is just bringing it to the very last take to the very last minute.
    EW.com, EW.com, 27 May 2025
  • The first memorial day wasn't called Memorial Day Decoration Day, May 30, 1868, was held at Arlington National Cemetery, which was just one of 74 national cemeteries established after the Civil War.
    Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 27 May 2025
Adjective
  • For a team usually fizzing with creative attacking ideas, their reliance on a single goalscorer, along with a late addition to the team and an unusually clinical finisher from the edge of the box, is not the spread of goal-scoring responsibility we are used to seeing.
    Thom Harris, New York Times, 28 May 2025
  • Packages valued at up to $800 can no longer bypass customs duty and instead have been slapped with higher duties and single package flat costs.
    Mark Faithfull, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Alone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alone. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.

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