- The state or quality of being alone or remote from others.
- A lonely or secluded place.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sōlitūdō, from sōlus, alone.]
SYNONYMS solitude, isolation, seclusion, retirement. These nouns denote the state of being alone. Solitude implies the absence of all others: “The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship” (Francis Bacon). “I love tranquil solitude” (Percy Bysshe Shelley). Isolation emphasizes total separation or detachment from others: “the isolation of Crusoe, depicted by Defoe's genius” (Winston Churchill). Seclusion suggests removal, though not necessarily complete inaccessibility; the term often connotes a withdrawal from social contact: enjoyed my walk in the seclusion of the woods. Retirement suggests a withdrawal or retreat from active life, as for serenity or privacy: “an elegant sufficiency, content,/Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books” (James Thomson).




