n.
Pronunciation: ' sä-l ə - ˌ ter- ē
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, solitarie, from Anglo-French, from Latin solitarius, from solitas aloneness, from solus alone
Date: 14th century
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>
synonyms see ALONE
– sol · i · tar · i · ly \ ˌ sä-l ə - ' ter- ə -l ē \ adverb
– sol · i · tar · i · ness \ ' sä-l ə - ˌ ter- ē -n ə s \ noun