sol´i|tar´i|ness

sol|i|tar|y «SOL uh _TEHR ee», adjective, noun, plural -tar|ies.

–adj.

1. a) alone or single; only: »

A solitary rider was seen in the distance.

SYNONYM(S): lone, sole. b) being the only one; standing by itself; unparalleled: »

not a single, solitary exception to the rule. The result, not of solitary conjecture, but of practice and experience (Samuel Johnson).

2. a) without companions; lonely: »

The trapper leads a solitary life in the mountains. Secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster (Dickens).

SYNONYM(S): unattended. b) away from people; remote; secluded: »

The house is in a solitary spot miles from town.

3. a) Zoology. living alone, rather than in colonies: »

a solitary bee.

b) Botany. growing separately; not forming clusters: »

a solitary stipule.

–n.

1. a person living alone, away from people.

2. a person who is left alone: »

An orphan and a solitary whose mother's death…had amounted to a tragedy (Arnold Bennett).

3. = solitary confinement. (Cf. ↑solitary confinement)

╂[< Latin sōlitārius, ultimately < sōlus alone. See etym. of doublet solitaire. (Cf. ↑solitaire)]

–sol´i|tar´i|ly, adverb.

–sol´i|tar´i|ness, noun.