Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

lonesome

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of lonesome

1 sad from lack of companionship or separation from others

  • a lonesome kitten left at the pound by its hard-hearted owners
Synonyms of lonesome

desolate, forlorn, lonely, lorn
Words Related to lonesome

friendless

abandoned, deserted, forgotten, forsaken, neglected, rejected

alone, lone, solitary, solo, unaccompanied

only, sole
Near Antonyms of lonesome

accompanied, attended, escorted

2 not being in the company of others

  • a lonesome cypress tree on a rocky, windswept point
Synonyms of lonesome

alone, lone, lonely, single, solitary, solo, unaccompanied
Words Related to lonesome

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cloistered, disassociated, hermetic (also hermetical), insulated, isolate, isolated, remote, retired, secluded, withdrawn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, neglected
Phrases Synonymous with lonesome

on one's own
Near Antonyms of lonesome

attended, chaperoned, escorted

adjacent, adjoining, communicating, contiguous, neighboring, next-door

attached, connected, coupled, linked
Antonyms of lonesome

accompanied

3 causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

  • the playground seems especially lonesome now that there are no young children in the neighborhood
Synonyms of lonesome

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, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, gray (also grey), lonely, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber (or sombre), sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched
Words Related to lonesome

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, threatening
Near Antonyms of lonesome

blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful

encouraging, hopeful, optimistic

lighthearted, lightsome
Antonyms of lonesome

bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny

Synonym Discussion of lonesome

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

Learn More about lonesome

  1. Dictionary: Definition of lonesome Spanish Central: Translation of lonesome Nglish: Translation of lonesome for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of lonesome for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up lonesome? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games