[sol.i.tary] adj [ME, fr. L solitarius, fr. solitas aloneness, fr. solus alone] (14c) 1 a: being, living, or going alone or without companions b: saddened by isolation
2: unfrequented, desolate 3 a: taken, passed, or performed without companions "a ~ ramble" b: keeping a prisoner apart from others "~ confinement"
4: being at once single and isolated "a ~ example"
5. a: occurring singly and not as part of a group or cluster "flowers terminal and ~" b: not gregarious, colonial, social, or compound "~ bees" syn see alone -- sol.i.tar.i.ly adv -- sol.i.tar.i.ness n
[2]solitary n, pl -tar.ies (15c) 1: one who lives or seeks to live a solitary life: recluse
2: solitary confinement in prison