What does solitary mean?
Solitary means alone, without companions, or separated from ordinary company and community. It can refer to a person, an animal, a place, or an activity: a solitary traveller is travelling alone, while a solitary house stands apart from others. The word is often more literary or formal than lonely. In some contexts it suggests deliberate seclusion or privacy, as in “a solitary retreat,” while in others it describes enforced isolation, especially in the established phrase “solitary confinement.” Solitary can also mean single or occurring alone, as in a solitary example or a solitary purpose. Its historical connection with the Latin root meaning “alone” links it to related words such as solitude, sole, and solo.
Alone or without companions; isolated, secluded, or occurring by itself.
"A solitary figure stood at the edge of the forest."
Often formal or literary; the connotation ranges from peaceful privacy to uncomfortable isolation.
A person who is alone or who chooses to live apart from others.
"The community traditionally welcomed the solitary without question."
This noun use is less common and somewhat archaic or literary.
From Latin solitarius, meaning “of a single person,” solitary carries the sense of being not just alone, but apart from ordinary company or community.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does solitary come from?
Solitary comes through Old French from the Latin adjective solitarius, meaning “alone” or “solitary.” That word was formed from solus, meaning “alone” or “sole,” the same root behind English sole, solo, and solitude. The English word has long been used both for people or things that are alone and for places or forms that are isolated from others.
Related word forms
How solitary is actually used
The word is often formal or literary. It can describe either a neutral condition of being alone or, depending on context, a more negative condition involving isolation or lack of companionship.
Easily confused with solitary
Solitude is the state or quality of being alone, whereas solitary describes someone or something that is alone or without companions.
Lonely often emphasizes a person's feelings of isolation or a wish for company, while solitary more neutrally describes being alone.