solitary C2 Topic:Crime & Justice US /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ UK /ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual Freq #7911 Meanings 1 adj Alone; done or existing without others. He enjoyed solitary walks along the empty beach at dawn. 2 adj Single; being the only one. A solitary light burned in the window of the old house. 3 noun The punishment of keeping a prisoner alone, away from all others. The inmate was held in solitary for six months. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · alone; done or existing... lonelysolo 3 noun · the punishment of keeping a... solitary confinement Word family Forms solitaries Derived forms nonsolitarysemisolitarysolitarilysolitarinesssolitonunsolitary Common collocations solitary confinement Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire. solitarie Middle English sōlitārius Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Crime & Justice Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # solitary **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj, noun **IPA (US):** /ˈsɑlɪˌtɛɹi/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈsɒlɪt(ə)ɹi/ **Frequency rank:** 7911 ## Meanings 1. Alone; done or existing without others. 2. Single; being the only one. 3. The punishment of keeping a prisoner alone, away from all others. ## Examples - He enjoyed solitary walks along the empty beach at dawn. - A solitary light burned in the window of the old house. - The inmate was held in solitary for six months. ## Derived Forms - nonsolitary - semisolitary - solitarily - solitariness - soliton - unsolitary ## Roots and Affixes - Root: solitarie - Root: sōlitārius ## Etymology From Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire. ## AI Etymology Solitary is from Middle English solitarie, borrowed from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitaire. Important recorded forms include solitarie (Middle English) and sōlitārius (Latin). Current senses include alone; done or existing without others, single; being the only one, and the punishment of keeping a prisoner alone, away from all others. The wider family includes derived forms such as nonsolitary, semisolitary, solitarily, solitariness, and soliton. ## Topics - Crime & Justice - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown