-lēˌ -li adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: lone + -ly
1.
a. : being without company : lacking companions or associates : lone
a lonely fisherman stood below on a tuft of gravel — Frederic Prokosch
young men who brought their girls there to dance as well as lonely ones who danced with the hostesses — Edmund Wilson
b. : cut off from company or neighbors : solitary
a lonely little town far off upon the verge of Lapland night — G.D.Brown
the train stopped frequently at lonely little stations — Robert Hichens
2. : not frequented by human beings : desolate
dangerous and lonely portions of … coast — A.F.Harlow
a lonely road
3. : affected by loneliness : dejected and unhappy as a result of being alone
so far from home … so lonely and terribly unhappy — Eric Linklater
a poor sick lonely old woman — W.M.Thackeray
lonely for his family
4. : producing a condition or feeling of loneliness
it's a lonely thing to be a champion — G.B.Shaw
Synonyms: see alone