Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close

lonely

adjective US /ˈloʊnli/

lacking companions or companionship

How often you will meet it

Rank 1,666 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 10,933 times across 155,370 chapters — 0.005% of every word in the library.

What it means

adjective

  1. lacking companions or companionship also: alone, lone, solitary he was alone when we met himshe is alone much of the time
  2. marked by dejection from being alone also: lonesome felt sad and lonelythe loneliest night of the week
  3. characterized by or preferring solitude also: lone, solitary a lone wolfa lonely existence
  4. devoid of creatures also: solitary, unfrequented a lonely crossroadsa solitary retreat

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

lonely in real books

Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.

  • Like an hermit (rather should I say a lonely anchorite) am I forced from human conversation.

    The Life and Most Surprising Adventures · Daniel Defoe · Chapter 1

  • These lonely dwellings of the trader are scattered far and wide over the whole continent—north, south, east, and west.

    Snowflakes and Sunbeams · R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne · Chapter 1

  • Mr. Burton, still propping him up, trod a measure with fewer steps, and cast uneasy glances up the lonely road.

    Admiral Peters Odd Craft, Part 14. · W. W. (William Wymark) Jacobs · Chapter 1

  • Afar, in twinkling distance lost, (So legends tell) he lonely wends And back through all that shining host His mandate sends.

    John Marr and Other Poems · Herman Melville · Chapter 1

  • On the farther side of the hemlock belt the open country rolled away before them grey and lonely under the stars.

    Ethan Frome · Edith Wharton · Chapter 1

Nearby in the frequency table

The whole table Read a book