Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Loneliness |
LonelinessNoun1. The state of being alone in solitary isolation. 2. Sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. 3. A disposition toward being alone. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "loneliness" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1601. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Health | The state of feeling sad or dejected as a result of lack of companionship or being separated from others. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: LonelinessSynonyms: aloneness (n), desolation (n), forlornness (n), lonesomeness (n), solitariness (n), solitude (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Seclusion Exclusion | Noun: seclusion, privacy; retirement; reclusion, recess; snugness; Adjective: delitescence; rustication, rus in urbe; solitude; solitariness; (singleness); isolation; loneliness; Adjective: estrangement from the world, voluntary exile; aloofness. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Loneliness |
| English words defined with "loneliness": desolately, disconsolately ♦ Elengeness. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "loneliness": Canker ♦ Hermit ♦ Needle ♦ Thumb. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Oh, loneliness and cheeseburgers are a dangerous mix (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) Yes, but his external existence was in no way compared to his internal agony of the loneliness he felt (The Faculty; writing credit: David Wechter; Bruce Kimmel) Give it to me straight, Doc. Am I looking at a future filled with loneliness and memories of better days, or is Stan gonna die (Will & Grace; writing credit: Evan Weinstein) The loneliness out here (U Turn; writing credit: John Ridley) It's so kind of you to want to visit me in my loneliness. (The Wizard of Oz; writing credit: L. Frank Baum; Noel Langley) | |
Lyrics | And my loneliness left me (Even The Nights Are Better; performing artist: Air Supply) Loneliness is tragical (Shape Of My Heart; performing artist: Backstreet Boys) Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness ("Piano Man"; performing artist: Billy Joel) I paid for it with hours of loneliness (Just One More Chance; performing artist: Bing Crosby) I must confess that my loneliness (Baby One More Time; performing artist: Britney Spears) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Forgotten Loneliness (1964) The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) Hours of Loneliness (1930) The Well of Loneliness (1997) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Strife Dependency And The Pursuit Of Loneliness : Drinking Destroys Dreams / Beth Bevan. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Det er ensomheten som dreper meg. [It's the loneliness that's killing me] : Omsorg smitter ikke. [You can't catch AIDS from caring]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | Hurt. Anger. Fear. Loneliness. Credit: National Library of Medicine. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Ship in the sky" by Luca Pellanda Commentary: "Loneliness." | "Waiting for godot" by Julia Eisenberg Commentary: "Waiting fot godot: total loneliness, existentialism and despair." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Amos Bronson Alcott | The surest sign of age is loneliness. |
Dorothy Day | We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. |
George Eliot | What loneliness is more lonely than distrust? |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | From hunger, from cold, from loneliness, from abandonment, from privation |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | But when he had sung his song and withdrawn into a snug corner of the room he began to taste the joy of his loneliness. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | Nearly all the time the barrier of loneliness cut Uncle John off from people and from appetites |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Because fecal incontinence can cause distress in the form of embarrassment, fear, and loneliness, taking steps to deal with it is important. (references) | |
This benefit is expressed as a decline in loneliness, depression, and social isolation and an increase in self-esteem, independence, social integration, and vocational prospects. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Loneliness" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.83% of the time. "Loneliness" is used about 571 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.83% | 570 | 11,057 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.17% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 571 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "loneliness": feeling of loneliness. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "loneliness": couple-loneliness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "loneliness"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | وحدة (collective, community, identity, isolation, oneness, singularity, solitude, togetherness, unit, unity), عزلة (alienation, aloofness, desolation, isolation, privacy, remoteness, retirement, seclusion, solitude), الهجر. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | усамотеност (apartness, remoteness, retreat), уединеност, самотност, самота (desolation, privacy, solitude), отстраненост. (various references) | |
Chinese | 孤單 (lone), 寂寞. (various references) | |
Czech | osamìlost (seclusion, solitude). (various references) | |
Finnish | yksinäisyys (isolation, seclusion, solitude). (various references) | |
French | solitude. (various references) | |
German | einsamkeit (emptiness, isolation, privacy, reclusion, reclusiveness, secludedness, seclusion, solitariness, solitude). (various references) | |
Greek | μοναξιά (aloneness, desolation, lonesomeness, privacy, seclusion, solitariness, solitude). (various references) | |
Hebrew | יחידות (oneness, singularity, solitariness, uniqueness), ערירות (barrenness, childlessness, solitariness), גלמודיות (solitude), בדידות (isolation, seclusion, solitariness, solitude). (various references) | |
Hungarian | magányosság (privacy, private, retreat, seclusion, solitariness, solitude), egyedüllét (aloneness, privacy, private, solitude). (various references) | |
Indonesian | kesepian (lonesome), kelengangan (deserted, quietness). (various references) | |
Italian | solitudine (privacy, seclusion, solitude). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 寂寥 (desolateness). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ロンリネス , せきばく (desolation), せきりょう (admission fee, backbone, cover charge, desolateness, mountain range, room rental), こどく (isolation, solitude). (various references) | |
Korean | 외로움. (various references) | |
Manx | lomarcanys (solitariness, solitude), fadanaght. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | onelinesslay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | solidão (desert, retirement, seclusion, shade, solitude), isolamento (apartness, insulation, retirement, seclusion, sequestration, solitude). (various references) | |
Romanian | singurãtate (desolation, isolation, retiredness, retirement, retiring, seclusion, secrecy, shadow, solitude), izolare (apartness, cloister, closeness, insulation, isolating, isolation, offishness, privacy, retiredness, retirement, retiring, seclusion, secrecy). (various references) | |
Russian | одиночество (desolation, singleness, solitude). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | usamljenost (singleness, solitude), napuštenost (abandonment). (various references) | |
Spanish | la soledad, soledad (cloistral, Dandy, desolation, isolation, orphanhood, privacy, solitude, wild), el estar sólo. (various references) | |
Swedish | ensamhet (lonelyness, oneness, solitariness, solitude). (various references) | |
Thai | ความเปล่าเปลี่ยว. (various references) | |
Turkish | yalnızlık (desolation, privacy, singleness, solitude). (various references) | |
Turkmen | aяralyk (separation). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | самітність (closeness, desolation, oneness, onliness, retirement, sequester, solitude). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự vắng vẻ (solitariness), sự hiu quạnh cảnh cô đơn, sự cô độc (solitariness). (various references) | |
Welsh | unigrwydd (solitude), unigedd (solitude). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | infrequentia, solitudine, solitudinem, solitudines, solitudinibus, solitudinis, solitudo. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | solitude. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "loneliness": lonelinesses. (additional references) | |
| |
"Loneliness" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: lomelino, lonelinesses, lonelyness, longlines, longliness, lonliness. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "loneliness" (pronounced lō"nlēnus) |
| 6 | -n l ē n u s | cleanliness, slovenliness. |
| 5 | -l ē n u s | deadliness, friendliness, ghastliness, holiness, liveliness, orderliness, silliness, timeliness, ugliness, worldliness. |
| 4 | -ē n u s | airworthiness, arbitrariness, bagginess, cloudiness, clumsiness, cockiness, contrariness, coziness, craziness, creditworthiness, creepiness, dizziness, dreariness, drowsiness, edginess, emptiness, frothiness, funniness, hairiness, happiness, laziness, lousiness, nastiness, nosiness, pettiness, queasiness, raciness, readiness, riskiness, roominess, rowdiness, scantiness, shakiness, sleepiness, sloppiness, solitariness, steadiness, stinginess, sturdiness, tardiness, tastiness, trustworthiness, uneasiness, unhappiness, unwieldiness, wariness, weariness, wimpiness, worthiness. |
| 3 | -n u s | abruptness, absoluteness, acuteness, aggressiveness, agribusiness, alertness, aloofness, alumnus, Anas, androgynous, anise, appropriateness, assertiveness, astuteness, asynchronous, attentiveness, attractiveness, awareness, awfulness, awkwardness, backwardness, badness, baldness, bearishness, bigness, bitterness, bituminous, blackness, blandness, bleakness, blindness, bluntness, boldness, bonus, boorishness, brashness, brightness, bullishness, business, callousness, calmness, carelessness, casualness, cautiousness, cavernous, cheapness, chitinous, cleanness, cleverness, closeness, cohesiveness, coldness, Colonus, combativeness, compactness, competitiveness, completeness, consciousness, contagiousness, contentiousness, Conus, coolness, correctness, creativeness, crispness, crookedness, cuteness, dampness, darkness, Deaconess, deafness, decisiveness, defensiveness, destructiveness, directness, disingenuousness, distinctiveness, divisiveness, drunkenness, dryness, dullness, eagerness, earnestness, effectiveness, elusiveness, evenness, exogenous, eyewitness, faintness, fairness, farsightedness, fastness, fickleness, firmness, fitness, flatness, fondness, foolishness, forcefulness, forgiveness, forthrightness, foulness, fractiousness, frankness, freshness, fullness, furnace, gauntness, gayness, gelatinous, gentleness, genuineness, genus, gluttonous, goodness, governess, graciousness, greatness, greenness, grimness, handedness, hardness, harmfulness, harness, harshness, heinous, helplessness, highness, hoarseness, homelessness, homesickness, homogenous, hopefulness, hopelessness, humanness, idleness, illness, inclusiveness, indebtedness, indecisiveness, indigenous, ineffectiveness, ineptness, inertness, intravenous, intrusiveness, inventiveness, joblessness, Johannes, kindness, larcenous, largeness, lateness, lawlessness, lenis, lightfastness, lightness, likeness, luminous, madness, Manus, meanness, membranous, menace, Minas, mindedness, minus, monotonous, mountainous, mutinous, narrowness, nearsightedness, neatness, nervousness, newness, niceness, nitrogenous, nonbusiness, nonpoisonous, nothingness, numbness, ominous, oneness, onus, openness, otherness, outrageousness, outspokenness, pandanus, peacefulness, penis, permissiveness, persuasiveness, pervasiveness, playfulness, poisonous, politeness, polygynous, pompousness, possessiveness, powerlessness, preparedness, quickness, quietness, randomness, rareness, ravenous, rawness, reasonableness, rebelliousness, recklessness, redness, remoteness, resistiveness, resourcefulness, responsiveness, restiveness, restlessness, restrictiveness, richness, righteousness, rightness, robustness, roughness, rudeness, ruinous, ruthlessness, sacredness, sadness, Salinas, sameness, secretiveness, selfishness, selflessness, sensitiveness, separateness, seriousness, shallowness, sharpness, shortness, shortsightedness, shrewdness, shyness, sickness, sinus, skittishness, slackness, slowness, sluggishness, slyness, smallness, smoothness, smugness, softness, soundness, spiritedness, squeamishness, starkness, steadfastness, steepness, sternness, stiffness, stillness, stoutness, strangeness, stubbornness, suddenness, suggestiveness, sweetness, swiftness, tartness, tenderness, tetanus, thickness, thinness, thoroughness, thoughtfulness, tightness, tiredness, togetherness, toughness, truthfulness, unconsciousness, unfairness, uniqueness, unpleasantness, unwillingness, usefulness, vagueness, vastness, venous, viciousness, villainous, vindictiveness, vividness, voluminous, wastefulness, waterishness, weakness, weightlessness, weirdness, wellness, wetness, whiteness, wholeness, wholesomeness, wickedness, wilderness, wildness, willingness, wistfulness, witness, wonderfulness, wryness. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-e-i-l-l-n-n-o-s-s" | |
-2 letters: lineless, loneness. | |
-3 letters: enisles, ensiles, eosines, illness, innless, insoles, leonine, lesions, lioness, nellies, nelsons, niellos, oleines, oneness, seniles, sonnies. | |
-4 letters: eloins, enisle, enosis, ensile, eosine, eosins, essoin, insole, lenses, leones, lesion, lessen, lesson, linens, lisles, losels, nellie, nelson, niello, noesis, noises, oleine, oleins, online, ossein, seines, selles, senile, snells, sonsie. | |
-5 letters: eloin, enols, eosin. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-e-i-l-l-n-n-o-s-s" | |
+2 letters: lonelinesses, slovenliness, unloveliness. | |
+3 letters: insolubleness. | |
+4 letters: colonialnesses, inviolableness, slovenlinesses, unlovelinesses. | |
+5 letters: insolublenesses, intolerableness, unworldlinesses. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
