sin·gu·lar
ˈsiŋ-gyə-lər 
1
a
: of or relating to a separate person or thing : individual
b
: of, relating to, or being a word form denoting one person, thing, or instance
a singular noun
c
: of or relating to a single instance or to something considered by itself
2
: distinguished by superiority : exceptional
an artist of singular attainments
3
: being out of the ordinary : unusual
on the way home we had a singular adventure
5
a
of a matrix
: having a determinant equal to zero
b
of a linear transformation
: having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero
singularly
adverb
1
: the singular number, the inflectional form denoting it, or a word in that form
2
: a singular term
Synonyms
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
Ziad Asali, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
The current owners have maintained the residence for the last 58 years, and now is your chance to own and update a singular piece of architecture that’s going for $6.9 million.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
At the time, a company spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel there was no singular cause, but that the store wasn't meeting financial expectations.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
The Emmy winner kept her accessories simple and only wore diamond stud earrings and one singular diamond ring.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
Here, Future and Metro infuse a beloved soul track with their singular stream-of-consciousness trap balladry.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
How about fighting with a giant sheep puppet, getting ripped across the stage in a fake windstorm and delivering A-list guest performers for a career-spanning set that proved his singular place in L.A. music history.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
With that in mind, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music now have a collaborative playlist feature that lets multiple users add and rearrange tracks on a singular playlist.
—USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Moraes, who also heads Brazil’s top election court, has spearheaded a crackdown on fake news, hate speech and incitement in Latin America’s largest nation, citing disinformation as a singular threat to its democracy.
—Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2024
But in his singular — at times, prohibitive — focus on the threat posed by China, Colby downgrades the significance of seemingly every other American strategic priority.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 23 Jan. 2024
The truck’s unusual design and construction, which consists of angular stainless steel and that giant singular wipe blade, have been frequently cited as being to blame for its lengthy development.
—Jon Porter, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2023
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
Adjective
There is no need for either side to submit to the other’s narrative or to admit their own singular culpability.
—Ziad Asali, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2024
The current owners have maintained the residence for the last 58 years, and now is your chance to own and update a singular piece of architecture that’s going for $6.9 million.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2024
At the time, a company spokesperson told the Journal Sentinel there was no singular cause, but that the store wasn't meeting financial expectations.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
The Emmy winner kept her accessories simple and only wore diamond stud earrings and one singular diamond ring.
—Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
Here, Future and Metro infuse a beloved soul track with their singular stream-of-consciousness trap balladry.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
How about fighting with a giant sheep puppet, getting ripped across the stage in a fake windstorm and delivering A-list guest performers for a career-spanning set that proved his singular place in L.A. music history.
—August Brown, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024
With that in mind, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music now have a collaborative playlist feature that lets multiple users add and rearrange tracks on a singular playlist.
—USA TODAY, 10 Apr. 2024
Moraes, who also heads Brazil’s top election court, has spearheaded a crackdown on fake news, hate speech and incitement in Latin America’s largest nation, citing disinformation as a singular threat to its democracy.
—Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Noun
Fortunately, though the show participated in Under the Radar, director Dmitry Krymov’s singular take on the most beloved Russian book by the most beloved Russian writer is still playing at BRIC through January 28.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 25 Jan. 2024
But in his singular — at times, prohibitive — focus on the threat posed by China, Colby downgrades the significance of seemingly every other American strategic priority.
—Noah Rothman, National Review, 23 Jan. 2024
The truck’s unusual design and construction, which consists of angular stainless steel and that giant singular wipe blade, have been frequently cited as being to blame for its lengthy development.
—Jon Porter, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2023
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
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.
Articles Related to singular
Dictionary Entries Near singular
Cite this Entry
“Singular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/singular. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
singular
1 of 2 adjective
sin·gu·lar
ˈsiŋ-gyə-lər
1
a
: of or relating to a separate person or thing : individual
b
: of, relating to, or constituting a word form denoting one person, thing, or instance
a singular noun
c
: of or relating to a single instance or to something considered by itself
3
: different from general expectations : peculiar
singularly
adverb
singular
2 of 2 noun
: something that is singular
especially
: the singular number, the inflectional form denoting it, or a word in that form
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