lonely
unhappy because you are not with other people
تنها ، غریب
She gets lonely now that all the kids have left home.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
lonely
adjective (lonelier, loneliest)
1 unhappy because you are not with other people:
She felt very lonely when she first went to live in the city.
2 far from other places:
a lonely house in the hills
Look at alone.
>> loneliness noun (no plural)
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
lonely
lone‧ly S3 /ˈləʊnli $ ˈloʊn-/ adjective (comparative lonelier, superlative loneliest)
1. unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to SYN lonesome American English:
a lonely old man
Don’t you get lonely being on your own all day?
► Do not use lonely to mean ‘without anyone else’. Use alone: She is afraid to travel alone (NOT travel lonely).
2. a lonely experience or situation makes you unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to:
a lonely journey
lonely life/existence
He led a lonely life with few friends.
3. the lonely [plural] people who are lonely
4. a lonely place is a long way from where people live and very few people go there SYN lonesome American English, remote, desolate
lonely place/road/spot etc
—loneliness noun [uncountable]
• • •
| THESAURUS |
▪ lonely (also lonesome American English) unhappy because you are alone or do not have any friends: Tammy felt very lonely when she first arrived in New York. | Our neighbor George is a very lonely man. | I get so lonesome here with no one to talk to.
▪ isolated lonely because your situation makes it difficult for you to meet people: People caring for sick relatives often feel very isolated. | Children of very rich parents can grow up isolated from the rest of society.
▪ alienated feeling that you do not belong in a particular place or group: She felt very alienated as the only woman in the company. | In high school she felt somehow different and alienated from other students.
▪ homesick unhappy because you are a long way from your home and the people who live there: When I first went to Germany, I was very homesick.
▪ miss somebody used when saying that you feel unhappy because someone is not there with you: I miss you. | She misses her friends.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
lonely
lone·ly [lonely lonelier loneliest] [ˈləʊnli] [ˈloʊnli] adjective (lone·lier, lone·li·est)
1. unhappy because you have no friends or people to talk to
• She lives alone and often feels lonely.
• As I didn't speak the language I grew lonelier and lonelier.
2. (of a situation or period of time) sad and spent alone
• all those lonely nights at home watching TV
3. only before noun (of places) where only a few people ever come or visit
Syn: isolated
• a lonely beach
Derived Word: loneliness
Word Origin:
late 16th cent.: from lone + -ly.
Thesaurus:
lonely adj.
1.
• She lives alone and often feels lonely.
alone • • isolated • • desolate • |written forlorn •
feel lonely/alone/isolated/desolate/forlorn
Lonely or alone? Alone is slightly more informal than lonely and cannot be used before a noun.
2. usually before noun
• He thought of those lonely nights watching TV.
solitary • • alone • • by yourself • • on your own •
a lonely/solitary existence/life/walk
Which Word?:
alone / lonely / lone
Alone, and on your own /by yourself (which are less formal and are the normal phrases used in spoken English), describe a person or thing that is separate from others. They do not mean that the person is unhappy: ▪ I like being alone in the house. ◊ ▪ I’m going to London by myself next week. ◊ ▪ I want to finish this on my own ▪ (= without anyone’s help) ▪.
Lone/solitary/single mean that there is only one person or thing there; lone and solitary may sometimes suggest that the speaker thinks the person involved is lonely: ▪ a lone jogger in the park ◊ ▪ long, solitary walks
Lonely (NAmE also lonesome) means that you are alone and sad: ▪ a lonely child ◊ ▪ Sam was very lonely when he first moved to New York. It can also describe places or activities that make you feel lonely: ▪ a lonely house
Example Bank:
• It gets pretty lonely here in winter.
• She felt oddly lonely without her books.
• She was desperately lonely at school.
• As I didn't speak the language I grew lonelier and lonelier.
• He thought back to all those lonely nights at home watching TV.
• The support they give to lonely old people is invaluable.
• There are times when I feel very lonely.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
lonely / ˈləʊn.li / / ˈloʊn- / adjective
B1 unhappy because you are not with other people:
She gets lonely now that all the kids have left home.
the lonely life of a farmer
B2 A lonely place is a long way from where people live:
a lonely stretch of Arizona highway
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
lonely
[lo͟ʊnli]
lonelier, loneliest
1) ADJ-GRADED Someone who is lonely is unhappy because they are alone or do not have anyone they can talk to.
...lonely people who just want to talk...
I feel lonelier in the middle of London than I do on my boat in the middle of nowhere.
N-PLURAL: the N
The lonely are people who are lonely. He looks for the lonely, the lost, the unloved.
2) ADJ-GRADED A lonely situation or period of time is one in which you feel unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to.
I desperately needed something to occupy me during those long, lonely nights.
...her lonely childhood.
3) ADJ-GRADED A lonely place is one where very few people come.
It felt like the loneliest place in the world.
...dark, lonely streets.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
lonely
lone·ly /ˈloʊnli/ adj lone·li·er; -est [also more ~; most ~]
1 : sad from being apart from other people
• He was/felt lonely without his wife and children.
• a lonely old man
• feeling lonely
• She was a lonely child with few friends.
2 : causing sad feelings that come from being apart from other people
• It was lonely living out in the country.
• She spent too many lonely nights at home.
• She had a lonely childhood.
• It's lonely at the top. [=powerful and successful people often have few friends]
3 : not visited by or traveled on by many people
• a lonely spot in the woods
• a lonely stretch of road
- lone·li·ness /ˈloʊnlinəs/ noun [noncount]
