• (America) IPA: /ˈsɑlɪtɛɹi/
• (RP) IPA: /ˈsɒlɪtɹi/

From , borrowed from Latin sōlitārius.

solitary

1. (countable) One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchorite, hermit or recluse.

   Synonyms: Thesaurus:recluse

   • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 24 ↗:

     He brooded and intrigued fantastically. He was becoming one of the big-time solitaries. And he wasn't meant to be a solitary. He was meant to be in active life, a social creature.

2. (uncountable) Ellipsis of solitary confinement

   The prisoners who started the riot were moved to solitary.

3. (uncountable) The state of being solitary; solitude

• French: solitaire
• German: Einsiedler, Einsiedlerin
• Portuguese: solitário
• Russian: отше́льник
• Spanish: solitario

solitary (not comparable)

1. Living or being by oneself; alone; having no companion present
2. Performed, passed, or endured alone

   a solitary journey

   a solitary life

3. Not much visited or frequented; remote from society

   a solitary residence or place

4. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted

   the solitary desert

   • 1769, Bible (King James Version), Lamentations 1.1

     How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!

5. Gloomy; dismal, because of not being inhabited.
6. Single; individual; sole.

   a solitary example

7. (botany) Not associated with others of the same kind.

• French: solitaire, seul
• German: alleinstehend, einsiedlerisch
• Portuguese: solitário, só
• Russian: одино́кий
• Spanish: solitario

• German: einsam
• Portuguese: solitário
• Russian: одиночный

• German: abgeschieden, verlassen
• Portuguese: solitário
• Russian: уединённый

• Portuguese: solitário, só
• Russian: едини́чный

solitary

1. Archaic form of solitaire