INDEX:
1. when there are no other people with you
2. when you do something without help from someone else
3. someone who spends a lot of time alone
4. alone and unhappy
5. to feel lonely because someone that you love is not there
RELATED WORDS
not married : ↑ MARRY
see also
↑ ONLY
↑ INDEPENDENT
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1. when there are no other people with you
▷ alone/on your own/by yourself /əˈləʊn, ɒn jɔːr ˈəʊn, baɪ jɔːʳˈself/ [adjective/adverb]
if you are alone, on your own, or by yourself, you are in a place and no-one else is there with you :
▪ She was sitting alone on a park bench.
▪ I don’t really like walking home on my own at night.
▪ Do you share the apartment, or do you live by yourself?
all alone/on your own/by yourself
completely alone
▪ Wendy was frightened, all alone in that big old house.
leave somebody alone/on their own/by themselves
▪ The first time his parents left him alone in the house, he set fire to the kitchen.
▪ Mark’s not well. I can’t go out and leave him on his own.
▷ unaccompanied /ˌʌnəˈkʌmpənid◂/ [adjective/adverb]
if you go somewhere unaccompanied, you go there alone, especially when it is more usual to be with someone else :
▪ Children flying unaccompanied are looked after by the cabin crew.
▪ Some parts of town are not safe for an unaccompanied woman.
▷ solitude /ˈsɒlɪtjuːd, ˈsɒlətjuːdǁˈsɑːlə̇tuːd/ [uncountable noun]
when you are alone, especially when you want to be alone because this gives you time to think, work etc :
▪ I need solitude in order to paint my pictures.
▪ Ella loved the quiet solitude of her weekends.
in solitude
▪ He spent his free time in solitude, reading or walking in the hills.
2. when you do something without help from someone else
▷ on your own/by yourself /ɒn jɔːr ˈəʊn, baɪ jɔːʳˈself/ [adverb]
if you do something on your own or by yourself, you do it without anyone helping you :
▪ I managed to fix the car on my own.
▪ He’s old enough to get dressed by himself, isn’t he?
all on your own/all by yourself
use this when it is surprising that someone has done something without anyone’s help
▪ How did you manage to prepare so much food all by yourself?
you’re on your own
use this to tell someone that you will not help them spoken
▪ I can get an application for you, but after that you’re on your own.
▷ unaided /ʌnˈeɪdɪd, ʌnˈeɪdəd/ [adverb]
if you do something difficult unaided you do it without the help of anyone or anything :
▪ After his illness he was unable to walk unaided.
▪ With no one else in the office I had to deal with the problem unaided.
▷ single-handedly/single-handed /ˌsɪŋg ə l ˈhændə̇dli, ˌsɪŋg ə l ˈhændə̇d/ [adverb]
if you do something very difficult or very impressive single-handedly or single-handed, you succeed in doing it without the help of anyone else :
▪ In 1992, he rowed across the Atlantic single-handed.
almost single-handedly/single-handed
▪ Sanger almost single-handedly founded the birth control movement in the early 1900s.
▷ solo /ˈsəʊləʊ/ [adverb]
if you do something solo, especially a sports or musical activity, you do it alone :
▪ By the end of the course, all students will fly solo.
go solo
start doing something on your own instead of in a group
▪ John played with the band for five years before going solo.
solo [adjective usually before noun]
▪ Albert wants to take a solo sailing trip around the world.
▷ self-made /ˌself ˈmeɪd◂/ [adjective usually before noun]
someone who started without much money but has become rich and successful simply through their own efforts and work :
self-made man/businesswoman/millionaire etc
▪ C.J. Walker became one of black America’s first self-made millionaires.
▷ self-starter /ˌself ˈstɑːʳtəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who is able to do things on their own without being told what to do by other people, especially in their job :
▪ We’re looking for creative self-starters with at least three years’ experience.
3. someone who spends a lot of time alone
▷ solitary /ˈsɒlɪt ə ri, ˈsɒlət ə riǁˈsɑːlə̇teri/ [adjective]
a solitary person spends a lot of time alone, especially because they like being alone :
▪ She was a very solitary woman who didn’t make friends easily.
▪ Ed enjoys the solitary life of a rancher.
▷ loner /ˈləʊnəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who prefers to do things alone and has few friends :
▪ I had always been a loner, and I hated sharing an apartment when I went to college.
▪ Joe is one of our best workers but he’s too much of a loner to be a good leader.
▷ recluse /rɪˈkluːsǁˈrekluːs/ [countable noun]
someone who lives alone and avoids meeting other people :
▪ Old Mr Grimes was a bad-tempered recluse, rarely seen in the town.
▪ If you don’t get out more, you’re going to turn into a recluse.
reclusive /rɪˈkluːsɪv/ [adjective]
▪ The author has grown even more reclusive he avoids meeting people in recent years.
▷ prefer your own company /prɪˌfɜːʳ jɔːr əʊn ˈkʌmp ə ni/ [verb phrase]
someone who prefers their own company prefers to be alone rather than being with other people :
▪ We asked him to come and eat with us, but he said he preferred his own company.
4. alone and unhappy
▷ lonely also lonesome American /ˈləʊnli, ˈləʊns ə m/ [adjective]
unhappy because of being alone or without 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.
loneliness [uncountable noun]
the feeling you have when you are lonely :
▪ Many old people complain of loneliness.
▷ isolated /ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd, ˈaɪsəleɪtəd/ [adjective]
feeling that there is no one you can talk to or have as a friend, because your situation makes it difficult for you to meet people :
▪ Young, single parents often feel isolated and unhappy.
isolated from
▪ Children of very rich parents can grow up isolated from the rest of society.
isolation /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
when you are alone and unhappy, for example because you have no-one to talk to or no-one to help you :
isolated of
▪ At first I couldn’t stand the isolation of living in a foreign country.
▷ alienated /ˈeɪliəneɪtɪd, ˈeɪliəneɪtəd/ [adjective]
feeling alone and as if you are not wanted or understood by other people :
▪ We’re making a special effort to help alienated members feel more part of the group.
alienated from
▪ In high school she felt somehow different and alienated from other students.
alienation /ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
alienated from
▪ Ray spoke of his daughter’s growing alienation from the Church.
5. to feel lonely because someone that you love is not there
▷ miss /mɪs/ [transitive verb]
to feel lonely because someone that you like very much is not with you :
▪ When are you coming home? I miss you.
▪ It was great living in Prague, but I really missed all my friends.
▷ be pining (away) for /biː ˌpaɪnɪŋ (əˈweɪ) fɔːʳ/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to feel unhappy because you cannot be with someone you love - often used humorously :
▪ ‘What’s wrong with Dan?’ ‘I think he’s pining for his girlfriend.’