| English Dictionary |
LONELY (lonelier, loneliest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
, loneliest Dictionary entry overview: What does lonely mean?
• LONELY (adjective)
The adjective LONELY has 4 senses:
1. lacking companions or companionship
2. marked by dejection from being alone
3. characterized by or preferring solitude
4. devoid of creatures
Familiarity information: LONELY used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: loneliest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lacking companions or companionship
Synonyms:
Context example:
a solitary traveler
Similar:
unaccompanied (being without an escort)
Derivation:
loneliness (the state of being alone in solitary isolation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by dejection from being alone
Synonyms:
lonely; lonesome
Context example:
spent a lonesome hour in the bar
Similar:
dejected (affected or marked by low spirits)
Derivation:
loneliness (sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Characterized by or preferring solitude
Synonyms:
Context example:
a solitary walk
Similar:
unsocial (not seeking or given to association; being or living without companions)
Derivation:
loneliness (a disposition toward being alone)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Devoid of creatures
Synonyms:
lonely; solitary; unfrequented
Context example:
a trail leading to an unfrequented lake
Similar:
uninhabited (not having inhabitants; not lived in)
Context examples
I don't know, except that I smoke more than usual when I am lonely.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
It was pleasant, for in dull weather Meg often felt lonely.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
As I rode back in the lonely night, the wind going by me like a restless memory, I thought of this, and feared she was not happy.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
It was a lonely life to lead, for I had nothing to think of, having been made such a little while before.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
But think, Humphrey, a fellow-creature in his last lonely hour.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
It was a very useful note, for it supplied them with fresh matter for thought and conversation during the rest of their lonely evening.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Never had I known my friend more moved, and yet the dark street still stretched lonely and motionless before us.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Two years have passed since then, and my life has been until lately lonelier than ever.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Silence settled down again over the lonely land.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
It is so lonely up there with only—Oh, my God, it is Paul!’
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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