1
as in lone
not being in the company of others
a single lonely cactus in the desert
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lonesome
sad from lack of companionship or separation from others
I was lonely when I first got to Los Angeles, but I soon made friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
the lonely streets of a honky-tonk beach town in the off-season
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lonely
And as long as his songs are playing somewhere, the lonely planet boy will never be far away — always a human being, always wanting too many things.
—
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025
That same year, Hackman also had a memorable cameo in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, playing the lonely blind man who encounters Peter Boyle’s monster.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Feb. 2025
The outdoor shots are amazing, too, from Kata’s routine of swimming laps outside in a pool surrounded by snow to aerial scenes of lonely country highways that cut through snowbanks like gray snakes.
—Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Bill’s smarm has calcified into a kind of mad obsession; Hal is a starkly lonely and cowardly man.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lonely
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025
That same year, Hackman also had a memorable cameo in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, playing the lonely blind man who encounters Peter Boyle’s monster.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 27 Feb. 2025
The outdoor shots are amazing, too, from Kata’s routine of swimming laps outside in a pool surrounded by snow to aerial scenes of lonely country highways that cut through snowbanks like gray snakes.
—Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Bill’s smarm has calcified into a kind of mad obsession; Hal is a starkly lonely and cowardly man.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lonely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lonely
Adjective
-
Atlanta's lone run came in the seventh inning when Luke Williams hit a solo home run to left field.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Moore is the lone woman in a boys’ club of celebrated actors, including Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, and Kevin Spacey.—
Katie Rife,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The cowboy is a longstanding symbol of North America, and is romanticized as a ‘real man,’ the strong silent type, lonesome, self-reliant and emotionally distant.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Kelce, all by his lonesome away from the main field, sprinted through route after route — stop-start motions that require explosive movements off the line and at the top of the routes.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Even the relatively staid premiere stole a handful of grim chuckles thanks to its guest star’s exceedingly blasé delivery of impossibly bleak news.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
9 Mar. 2025
-
Yet if Mickey’s life is suffocatingly bleak, Mickey 17 is anything but.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The multi-month grind of long, solitary hours and deadlines is also incompatible with the deferred pay model that many crew members working on 20-30-day indie shoots accept.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
4 Mar. 2025
-
The path to ethical AI is not a solitary journey for individual companies but a shared effort involving stakeholders from all walks of life.—
Madhava Rao Kunchala,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
This powerful film tells of the friendship between a young man and a peasant farmer who has devoted his life to planting trees throughout his desolate homeland.—
Jeremy Fassler,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Orphaned at 3 years old and robbed of her fortune, she’s dragged aboard a ship sailing for New France by her guardian, only to be abandoned on a desolate island.—
Staff,
The Christian Science Monitor,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
An open-wide view is way more important than a dark sky.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The fire broke out when the bus was on the corner of Cambridge and Northampton roads in the Cleveland area, filling the suburban street with a dark cloud of smoke.—
Kyla Guilfoil,
NBC News,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
While the county isn’t seeing immediate growth, Endicott said that there’s 1,752 residential building permits for single family, duplex, triplex and four-plex developments.—
Taylor O’Connor,
Kansas City Star,
5 Mar. 2025
-
One option for the single family homes will start in the high $300,000s and another will start in the low $400,000s.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The area still had a slightly forlorn air, with stores boarded up and a few tent villages.—
Tony Perrottet,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Jan. 2025
-
In the clip, Junior can be seen lying in his bed, motionless, looking off into the distance with a seemingly forlorn look on his face.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Articles Related to lonely
Cite this Entry
“Lonely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lonely. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share