Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Devoid of other people or living creatures; desolate: Describes a place that is empty, unfrequented, or isolated.
   • Sad because one lacks friends or company: Describes the feeling of sadness and isolation resulting from a lack of companionship.
   • Without companions; solitary: Describes a person who is, or prefers to be, alone.

Examples of Usage

• Describing a place:
  • He lived in a lonely cabin in the mountains.
  • The road was dark and lonely.
• Describing a feeling:
  • She felt very lonely after moving to a new city.
  • The old man was lonely without his dog.
• Describing a person or their situation:
  • A lonely figure stood on the cliff.
  • He led a lonely life as a lighthouse keeper.

Advanced Usage

• "Lonely at the top": An idiom describing the feeling of isolation experienced by people in positions of great power or leadership, as they have few true peers or confidants.
  • Becoming CEO was his dream, but he soon learned it was lonely at the top.
• "A lonely voice": A phrase describing a person who expresses an opinion that is not shared or supported by others.
  • She was a lonely voice of dissent in the committee.

Variants and Related Words

• Lonesome (adj): A synonym, often with a slightly more poetic or emotional tone, meaning sad due to being alone.
  • He felt lonesome for his hometown.
• Loneliness (n): The state of being lonely.
  • Chronic loneliness can affect your health.
• Alone (adj/adv): By oneself. (Note: "Alone" states a fact of being by oneself, while "lonely" describes the negative emotional response to that state.)
  • She lives alone but doesn't feel lonely.

Synonyms

• Solitary: Existing or living alone.
• Desolate: Deserted and bleak.
• Forlorn: Pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely.
• Isolated: Far away from other places, buildings, or people; remote.

Related Phrases

• To feel lonely for someone: (Chiefly US English) To miss someone and feel sad because of their absence.
  • He felt lonely for his family back home.
• A lonely heart: A person who is lonely and seeking companionship, often used in personal advertisements.
  • She placed a "lonely hearts" ad in the newspaper.

Related Idioms

• Plough a lonely furrow: (UK English; US: "plow a lonely furrow") To do something independently, especially when it is different from what other people are doing.
  • The scientist ploughed a lonely furrow for years before her theory was accepted.

Adjective

1. devoid of creatures
   • a lonely crossroads
   • a solitary retreat
   • a trail leading to an unfrequented lake
2. characterized by or preferring solitude
   • a lone wolf
   • a lonely existence
   • a man of a solitary disposition
   • a solitary walk
3. marked by dejection from being alone
   • felt sad and lonely
   • the loneliest night of the week
   • lonesome when her husband is away
   • spent a lonesome hour in the bar
4. lacking companions or companionship
   • he was alone when we met him
   • she is alone much of the time
   • the lone skier on the mountain
   • a lonely fisherman stood on a tuft of gravel
   • a lonely soul
   • a solitary traveler