Solitary

How to spell solitary

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce solitary

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does solitary mean?

1. adjectiveDone, existing, or spent alone, without companions or other people.

Solitary in a sentence

• He enjoyed a solitary walk along the empty beach each morning.

• The lighthouse keeper led a solitary life on the remote island.

Where does solitary come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the Latin solitarius, meaning 'living alone' or 'lonely', which was built on solus, the simple Latin word for 'alone' or 'single'. English took it up in the 1300s by way of Old French, keeping both the sense of being physically by oneself and the gentler sense of preferring one's own company. The same solus root sits inside a whole family of familiar words, including 'sole', 'solo', 'solitude' and 'desolate', all of which circle around the idea of singleness. The tricky part of the spelling is the unstressed middle: it is pronounced with a faint schwa, so writers can lose track of the 'it' that sits between 'sol' and 'ary'. Remembering the related noun 'solitude', where that 'it' is clearer, is a useful anchor for getting the letters right.

How the word is built

• sol- (from solus: alone)
• -it- (linking element)
• -ary (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')