lonely

1 not being in the company of others a single lonely cactus in the desert Synonyms lone, alone, lonesome, single, solitary, solo, unaccompaniedRelated Words unattended, unchaperoned; forlorn, friendless; cloistered, disassociated, hermetic (also hermetical), insulated, isolate, isolated, remote, retired, secluded, withdrawn; quarantined, segregated, separated, sequestered; separate, unattached, unconnected, unlinked; detached, disconnected, disjointed, dissociated, disunited, divided, fractionated; abandoned, adrift, deserted, desolate, forgotten, forsaken, lorn, neglectedNear Antonyms attended, chaperoned, escorted; adjacent, adjoining, communicating, contiguous, neighboring, next-door; attached, connected, coupled, linkedAntonyms accompanied

2 sad from lack of companionship or separation from others I was lonely when I first got to Los Angeles, but I soon made friends Synonyms desolate, forlorn, lonesome, lornRelated Words friendless; abandoned, deserted, forgotten, forsaken, neglected, rejected; alone, lone, solitary, solo, unaccompanied; only, soleNear Antonyms accompanied, attended, escorted

3 causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer the lonely streets of a honky-tonk beach town in the off-season Synonyms black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, desolate, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich [chiefly Scottish], elegiac (also elegiacal), forlorn, funereal, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), gloomy, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretchedRelated Words blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful; dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting; desperate, hopeless, pessimistic; lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful; colorless, drab, dull; dour, grim, lowering (also louring), lowery (also loury), menacing, negative, oppressive, threateningNear Antonyms blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful; encouraging, hopeful, optimistic; lighthearted, lightsomeAntonyms bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny