Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Solitary
Sol′i-ta-ry
,Adj.
1.
Living or being by one’s self; having no companion present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely.
Those rare and
solitary
, these in flocks. Milton.
Hie home unto my chamber,
Where thou shalt find me, sad and
Where thou shalt find me, sad and
solitary
. Shakespeare
2.
Performed, passed, or endured alone;
as, a
. solitary
journey; a solitary
lifeSatan . . . explores his
solitary
flight. Milton.
3.
Not much visited or frequented; remote from society; retired; lonely;
as, a
. solitary
residence or place4.
Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal;
as, the
. solitary
desertHow doth the city sit
solitary
, that was full of people. Lam. i. 1.
Let that night be
solitary
; let no joyful voice come therein. Job iii. 7.
5.
Single; individual; sole;
as, a
. solitary
instance of vengeance; a solitary
example6.
(Bot.)
Not associated with others of the same kind.
Solitary ant
(Zool.)
, any solitary hymenopterous insect of the family
– Mutillidae
. The female of these insects is destitute of wings and has a powerful sting. The male is winged and resembles a wasp. Called also spider ant
. Solitary bee
(Zool.)
, any species of bee which does not form communities.
– Solitary sandpiper
(Zool.)
, an American tattler (
– Totanus solitarius
). Solitary snipe
(Zool.)
, the great snipe.
[Prov. Eng.]
– Solitary thrush
(Zool.)
the starling.
[Prov. Eng.]
Sol′i-ta-ry
,Noun.
One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret; a hermit; a recluse.
Webster 1828 Edition
Solitary
SOL'ITARY
,Adj.
1.
Living alone; not having company. Some of the more ferocious animals are solitary, seldom or never being found in flocks or herds. Thus the lion is called a solitary animal. Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.2.
Retired; remote from society; not having company, or not much frequented; as a solitary residence or place.3.
Lonely; destitute of company; as a solitary life.4.
Gloomy; still; dismal. Let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. Job 3.5.
Single; as a solitary instance of vengeance; a solitary example.6.
In botany, separate; one only in a place; as a solitary stipule. A solitary flower is when there is only one to each peduncle; a solitary seed, when there is only one in a pericarp.SOL'ITARY
,Noun.
Definition 2024
solitary
solitary
English
Noun
solitary (plural solitaries)
- One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret, hermit or recluse.
- solitary confinement
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:recluse
Translations
one who lives alone
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solitary confinement — see solitary confinement
Adjective
solitary (not comparable)
- Living or being by one's self; alone; having no companion present; being without associates.
- 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
- The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.
-
- Performed, passed, or endured alone; as, a solitary journey; a solitary life.
- Not much visited or frequented; remote from society; retired.
- a solitary residence or place
- Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal.
- the solitary desert
- Bible, Lam. i. 1
- How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people.
- 1931, Francis Beeding, chapter 1/1, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
- Eldridge closed the despatch-case with a snap and, rising briskly, walked down the corridor to his solitary table in the dining-car.
- Single; individual; sole.
- a solitary example
- (botany) Not associated with others of the same kind.
Derived terms
Derived terms
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Translations
living alone or being by one's self
performed, passed, or endured alone
not much visited or frequented; remote from society
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single; individual; sole