n.
Pronunciation: ' sä-l ə - ˌ tüd, - ˌ tyüd
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin solitudin-, solitudo, from solus
Date: 14th century
1 : the quality or state of being alone or remote from society : SECLUSION
2 : a lonely place (as a desert)
synonyms SOLITUDE , ISOLATION , SECLUSION mean the state of one who is alone. SOLITUDE may imply a condition of being apart from all human beings or of being cut off by wish or circumstances from one's usual associates <a few quiet hours of solitude >. ISOLATION stresses detachment from others often involuntarily <the isolation of the village in winter>. SECLUSION suggests a shutting away or keeping apart from others often connoting deliberate withdrawal from the world or retirement to a quiet life <lived in pastoral seclusion >.