LONELY | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of lonely in English lonelyadjective uk /ˈləʊn.li/ us /ˈloʊn.li/ Add to word list Add to word list B1 unhappy because you are not with other people: She gets lonely now that all the kids have left home. the lonely life of a widower feeling sad and alone

• lonelyI've been lonely since my friends moved away.
• lonesomeUS I'm feeling lonesome.
• isolatedI wouldn't like living out in the country - I'd feel isolated from the rest of the world.
• forlornThe characters, a flighty heiress and her forlorn suitor, are a delight.
• lornHe's a lone, lorn creature.
• desolateAfter the market crash, desolate financiers left the field.

See more results » B2 A lonely place is a long way from where people live: a lonely stretch of Arizona highway

• Da Silva plays a bright, lonely student from New York, adrift in small-town Arizona.
• He couldn't bear to think of the lonely year ahead.
• He felt lonely and far from home.
• I know what it's like to be lonely, so I do feel for her.
• You can't complain of being lonely when you don't make any effort to meet people.

Feeling sad and unhappy

• a long face idiom
• abjection
• angsty
• be cut up idiom
• be down in the mouth idiom
• be in a funk idiom
• dismayed
• displeased
• dissatisfied
• distraught
• distressed
• lacerated
• lachrymose
• lonesome
• lost soul
• unsmiling
• wish you had never been born idiom
• wistful
• wistfully
• woe

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Alone Distant in space and time

Grammar

Alone, lonely, or lonesome?Alone is an adjective and an adverb meaning that no other person is with you. When we use alone as an adjective, it never comes before the noun (predicative adjective): … Alone or lonely?Alone is an adjective and an adverb meaning that no other person is with you. When we use alone as an adjective, it never comes before the noun (predicative adjective): … LonesomeIn American English, lonesome means the same as lonely: …

Idiom

lonely hearts (Definition of lonely from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

lonely | American Dictionary

lonelyadjective us /ˈloʊn·li/ Add to word list Add to word list (of someone) feeling sad because you are alone, or (of something) causing this feeling: a lonely child my lonely room A lonely place has no people, buildings, etc.: a lonely and deserted road

loneliness

noun [ U ] us /ˈloʊn·li·nəs/ Some elderly people live in isolation and loneliness. (Definition of lonely from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of lonely

lonely For instance, people feeling lonely do not necessarily benefit from antidepressants or from people visiting them. From the Cambridge English Corpus Apart from physical dangers (falls, scalds, and so on), being ' at home ' may mean being lonely, isolated and afraid. From the Cambridge English Corpus However, she describes her life as confined, isolated and lonely. From the Cambridge English Corpus Led to a lonely painful death where she would not accept even my help. From the Cambridge English Corpus He spends much time chatting in the street and is never lonely. From the Cambridge English Corpus To them it meant having someone to look after them in their old age and never having to be lonely. From the Cambridge English Corpus The elderly are particularly vulnerable because many are lonely, depressed and suffer from sleeplessness. From the Cambridge English Corpus Her work provides valuable insight into why such clubs are often ineffective in helping lonely people form satisfying relationships. From the Cambridge English Corpus They had little to occupy themselves during the days, weeks, or sometimes months they spent on these lonely outposts of the colonies. From the Cambridge English Corpus There is power in the presence of the therapist in accompanying the patient on this too often lonely path. From the Cambridge English Corpus In contrast, under appropriate conditions in the industrial organization perspective, lonely firms have the market to themselves. From the Cambridge English Corpus These comments suggest that people, including other older people, may perceive that a presumed ' lonely or withdrawn ' elder has chosen to be that way. From the Cambridge English Corpus If lonely, he must more and more look elsewhere than to his descendants to provide companionship and sociability. From the Cambridge English Corpus Similarly, of the 8.6% defined as often lonely, 50% were classified as isolated. From the Cambridge English Corpus All that is left is a lonely monitor on a table and a connecting cable. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of lonely These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of lonely?

Translations of lonely

in Chinese (Traditional) 孤獨的，寂寞的, 孤獨的，孤零零的，遠離人群的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 孤独的，寂寞的, 孤独的，孤零零的，远离人群的… See more in Spanish solo, solitario, solo/la [masculine-feminine… See more in Portuguese solitário, isolado, solitário/-ia… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian एकटे… See more 孤独な, 寂しい, 寂（さび）しい… See more yalnız, kimsesiz, ıssız… See more solitaire, isolé/-ée, (qui se sent) seul… See more sol, solitari… See more eenzaam, verlaten… See more நீங்கள் மற்றவர்களுடன் இல்லாததால் மகிழ்ச்சியடையவில்லை… See more (अन्य लोगों के संग न होने के कारण) एकाकी, उदास… See more એકલવાયું… See more ensom, øde, afsides… See more ensam, ensligt belägen… See more berasa kesunyian, sunyi… See more einsam… See more ensom, øde, enslig… See more تنہا… See more самотній, відлюдний, пустельний… See more ఒంటరితనం / ఇతర వ్యక్తులతో కలిసి లేనందున సంతోషంగా లేకపోవడం… See more একা, নিঃসঙ্গ… See more osamělý, izolovaný, liduprázdný… See more kesepian, sunyi… See more เหงา, ร้าง… See more cô đơn, vắng vẻ… See more samotny, odludny… See more 외로운, 황량한… See more solo, solitario, isolato… See more Need a translator?

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lone pair BETA lone parent/mother/father phrase lone wolf loneliness lonely lonely hearts idiom loner lonesome long {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of lonely

• lonely hearts idiom
• lonely hearts club/column, etc., at lonely hearts idiom

See all meanings

• lonely hearts idiom
• lonely hearts club/column, etc., at lonely hearts idiom

See all idioms and phrases

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• English   Adjective
• American   
  • Adjective 
    • lonely
  • Noun 
    • loneliness
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