alone
/əˈləʊn
/adjective & adverb
1Having no one else present; on one’s own: [as predicative adjective]: she was alone that evening [as adverb]: he lives alone...
- She knew her mother wouldn't approve of them spending an evening at home alone together.
- The pressure inside the container is the sum of the pressures that each gas would exert if it were present alone.
- Did he not know that it was unsafe to walk alone in the present circumstances?
Synonyms
by oneself, on one's own, all alone, solo, lone, solitary, single, singly;
unescorted, without an escort, unattended, unchaperoned, partnerless, companionless;
Latin solus
British informal on one's tod, on one's lonesome, on one's jack, on one's Jack Jones
Australian/New Zealand informal on one's pat, on one's Pat Malone
1.1Without others' help or participation; single-handed: [as adverb]: team members are more effective than individuals working alone [as predicative adjective]: they were not alone in dissenting from the advice...
- He raised four children alone as a single father and is now an independent consultant.
- Why will we now have single officers on duty alone at night in prisons?
- It was the work of a single individual, working alone and in secret.
Synonyms
unaided, unassisted, without help, without assistance, by one's own efforts, under one's own steam, independently, single-handedly, solo, on one's own, all alone, off one's own bat, on one's own initiative
1.2 [as adjective] Isolated and lonely: she was terribly alone and exposed...
- I think being a writer you never need to feel alone or lonely ever again because it's like you've created your own world.
- I threatened to tell her but he says he would just laugh it off and make her think it is because I am alone and lonely.
- I stayed awake in the dark, my eyes on the shadows, alone and lonely all night.
Synonyms
lonely, isolated, solitary, deserted, abandoned, forsaken, forlorn, friendless, desolate
2 [as adverb] Indicating that something is confined to the specified subject or recipient: he is answerable to Parliament alone it was a smile for him alone...
- The trustee held its assets on trust for Sealark alone subject only to the powers of issue and redemption.
- Its motto is not confined to the school alone - it reflects the spirit of the entire Ellangowan community.
- The use of the letters will not be confined to organic farmers alone.
Synonyms
only, solely, just, uniquely, exclusively;
and no one else, and nothing else, to the exclusion of everyone/everything else, no one but, nothing but
2.1Used to emphasize that only one factor out of several is being considered and that the whole is greater or more extreme: there were fifteen churches in the town centre alone...
- I believe this factor alone constitutes appropriate circumstances for allowing a premium.
- Our genes are not the product of our present environment alone, but also of all the environments our genetic ancestors experienced.
- There are some cars whose names alone present a serious obstacle to the potential buyer.
Phrases
go it alone
leave someone/thing alone
Derivatives
aloneness
- Both of the characters feel the terrible pain of aloneness and separateness felt also by both Linnet and Owl of the changeling stories.
- The name of Victoria gives you a clever, quick, analytical mind, but you suffer with a great deal of self-consciousness, lack of confidence, and much aloneness because of misunderstandings.
- I believe that what you do and what I do is very important in this country, because there are so many people who sit at home alone and don't recognize their sense of aloneness.
Origin
Middle English: from all + one.