I. əˈlōn adjective
Etymology: Middle English alon, alone, from al all + on, one one
1.
a. : separated especially physically from all other individuals or groups : isolated
the girl, intently listening, was alone with her fear — G.D.Brown
— usually used predicatively or postpositively
b. : away from others of one's own kind
alone except for his new gun and Ned, the setter — S.V.Benét
2.
a. : exclusive of anyone or anything else : without anyone or anything else : only
Jack alone arrived
learning alone produces not a university but a research institute — J.B.Conant
b. : considered apart and without reference to anyone or anything else
in that country alone 20 million bushels were produced
c. : lacking relative, friend, or helper
a widow alone in the world
d. : lacking the presence or support of those that are congenial to one's interests, temperament, viewpoint, or way of life
alone in a crowded room
e. : lacking those that share one's situation
he was not alone in his ignorance
3.
a. : lacking an equal or rival : incomparable
Hercules stood alone in strength
b. : possessing radically distinctive qualities not found in others : unique
of all the suggestions advanced, this theory is altogether alone in its penetration of the problem
c. : acting without the influence or contribution of other factors
that job alone will take all your time
Synonyms:
solitary , lonely , lonesome , lone , lorn , forlorn , desolate may all refer to situations of being apart from others or emotions experienced while apart. In addition to indicating the physical fact of being apart, alone , less rich in suggestion than the other words, may connote feelings of isolation from others
the captain of a ship at sea is a remote, inaccessible creature, something like a prince of a fairy tale, alone of his kind — Joseph Conrad
solitary may indicate a state of being apart that is desired and sought for
Netta loved these solitary interludes … she could dream things there and tell herself stories there, untroubled — J.C.Powys
It may lack connotation
being solitary he could only address himself to the waiter — Virginia Woolf
It may be used in indicating sadness at a lack of close intimate connections
an only child, he was left solitary by the early death of his mother, Susan Sturgis, whose loss he felt severely — J.F.Fulton
Sometimes lonely simply indicates the fact of being alone
he was lonely, but not in an unhappy sense … it was no hardship for him to be alone — H.S.Canby
Sometimes it indicates a sense of isolation, often from intimate relatives or friends
his grim look, his pride, his silence, his wild outbursts of passion, left William lonely even in his court — J.R.Green
It may apply to feelings of deep sorrow and bereavement
he felt more lonely and forsaken than at any time since his father's death — Archibald Marshall
lonesome , often more poignant, suggests sadness after a separation or bereavement
you must keep up your spirits, mother, and not be lonesome when I'm not at home — Charles Dickens
her flight … yet smote my lonesome heart more than all misery — P.B.Shelley
lone may indicate the mere fact of being alone
in his lone course the shepherd oft will pause — William Wordsworth
It may indicate a lack of close relatives
the mother's dead and I reckon it's got no father; it's a lone thing — George Eliot
lorn , now humorous or literary, suggests recent separation or bereavement
when lorn lovers sit and droop — W.M.Praed
forlorn indicates dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from someone dear
as forlorn and stupefied as I was when my husband's spirit flew away — Thomas Hardy
as forlorn as King Lear at the end of his days — G.W.Johnson
desolate is most extreme in suggesting inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement
fatherless, a desolate orphan — S.T.Coleridge
for her false mate has fled and left her desolate — P.B.Shelley
solitary , lonely , lonesome , and desolate are applied to places and locations more than the other words are. solitary may be applied either to that which is apart from things similar or to that which is uninhabited or unvisited by human beings
a solitary chamber, or rather a cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase — Mary W. Shelley
lonely may be applied to what is either far apart from things similar and seldom visited or to that which is inhabited by only one person or group and conducive to loneliness
heard not only in the towns but even in lonely farmhouses — Sherwood Anderson
lonesome has much the same suggestion. desolate indicates either that a place is abandoned by people or that it is so barren and wild as never to have attracted them
as if nothing had life by day, in that lifeless desolate spot — Anthony Trollope
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English alon, alone, from al all + on, one one
: solely , simply , exclusively ; often : without the aid or support of another
the proof does not rest alone on that statement
he said he could do it alone