sol·i·tary
ˈsä-lə-ˌter-ē 
1
a
: being, living, or going alone or without companions
b
: saddened by isolation
2
: unfrequented, desolate
a solitary seashore
3
a
: taken, passed, or performed without companions
a solitary ramble
b
: keeping a prisoner apart from others
solitary confinement
4
: being at once single and isolated
a solitary example
5
a
: occurring singly and not as part of a group or cluster
flowers terminal and solitary
b
: not gregarious, colonial, social, or compound
solitary bees
plural solitaries
1
: one who lives or seeks to live a solitary life : recluse
2
: solitary confinement in prison
put him in solitary
Synonyms
Examples of solitary in a Sentence
Adjective
He took a solitary walk on the beach.
A solitary house stood on top of the cliff.
Most cats are solitary creatures.
He's a very solitary man.
Noun
The prisoner was kept in solitary.
weary of European civilization, the painter Paul Gauguin famously abandoned France to become a solitary in the South Seas
Recent Examples on the Web
Goran Paun, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
In this gentle novel, an elderly widow finds her solitary routine disrupted by a mouse, setting off a sequence of events that reconnects with the larger world.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024
Kenny Herzog, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2024
Brandon reportedly died by suicide locked in solitary in that shower cage.
—Tamara Carter, New York Daily News, 29 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for solitary 
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Adjective
Not in the solitary confines of my design tools, but in these rich, human conversations about hopes, challenges and possibilities.
—Goran Paun, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
In this gentle novel, an elderly widow finds her solitary routine disrupted by a mouse, setting off a sequence of events that reconnects with the larger world.
—Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
Sweat was then confined to 23-hour-a-day solitary at Five Points Correctional Center, though he was subsequently transferred to Attica Correctional after trying to bribe Five Points officials.
—Kenny Herzog, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2024
Brandon reportedly died by suicide locked in solitary in that shower cage.
—Tamara Carter, New York Daily News, 29 Jan. 2024
See all Example Sentences for solitary
Dictionary Entries Near solitary
Cite this Entry
“Solitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solitary. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
solitary
1 of 2 adjective
sol·i·tary
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē
1
: all alone
a solitary traveler
2
: seldom visited : lonely
3
: being the only one : sole
solitary example
4
: growing or living alone : not forming part of a group or cluster
flowers at the end of the stalk and solitary
the solitary wasps
solitarily
adverb
ˌsäl-ə-ˈter-ə-lē
solitariness
noun
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē-nəs
Medical Definition
solitary
adjective
sol·i·tary
ˈsäl-ə-ˌter-ē
: occurring singly and not as part of a group
a solitary lesion
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