SOLITUDE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Solitude

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/sˈɑlətˌud/ Listen

noun

Solitude n.

1.

State of being alone, or withdrawn from society; a lonely life; loneliness. "Whosoever is delighted with solitude is either a wild beast or a god." "O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face?"

2.

Remoteness from society; destitution of company; seclusion; said of places; as, the solitude of a wood. "The solitude of his little parish is become matter of great comfort to him."

3.

Solitary or lonely place; a desert or wilderness. "In these deep solitudes and awful cells Where heavenly pensive contemplation dwells."

Synonyms: Syn. Loneliness; soitariness; loneness; retiredness; recluseness. Solitude, Retirement, Seclusion, Loneliness. Retirement is a withdrawal from general society, implying that a person has been engaged in its scenes. Solitude describes the fact that a person is alone; seclusion, that he is shut out from others, usually by his own choice; loneliness, that he feels the pain and oppression of being alone. Hence, retirement is opposed to a gay, active, or public life; solitude, to society; seclusion, to freedom of access on the part of others; and loneliness, enjoyment of that society which the heart demands. "O blest retirement, friend to life's decline." "Such only can enjoy the country who are capable of thinking when they are there; then they are prepared for solitude; and in that (the country) solitude is prepared for them." "It is a place of seclusion from the external world." "These evils... seem likely to reduce it (a city) ere long to the loneliness and the insignificance of a village."

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Etymology of 'Solitude'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Solitude" Quotes from Famous Books

... saying that a man who has been alone in the jungle for more than a year is never quite sane all his life after. People credited Moriarty's queerness of manner and moody ways to the solitude, and said it showed how Government spoilt the futures of its best men. Moriarty had built himself the plinth of a very god reputation in the bridge-dam-girder line. But he knew, every night of the week, that he was taking steps to undermine that reputation with L. L. L. and "Christopher" and little ...

— The Works of Rudyard Kipling One Volume Edition • Rudyard Kipling

... was concentrated in the small commercial eye which winked, absurdly, in the solitude of his solemn and enormous face. You must take people as you found them, said he, and for his part he ...

— The Immortal Moment - The Story of Kitty Tailleur • May Sinclair

... sturdy and delicate integrity, recognized far and wide, had long since won him the blunt but hearty sobriquet of "Honest Old Abe." But it became noticeable that he was less among the crowd and more in the solitude of his office or his study, and that he seemed ever in haste to leave the eager ...

— Abraham Lincoln: A History V1 • John G. Nicolay and John Hay

... exhibited some study of POSE, and a certain exaggeration of attitude, that betrayed the habit of an audience; also that her voice had an artificial accent that was not wholly unconscious, even in this lofty solitude. Yet the very next moment, when she turned, and caught Rand's eye fixed upon her, she started naturally, colored slightly, uttered that feminine adjuration, "Good Lord! gracious! goodness me!" which is seldom used in reference to its effect ...

— The Twins of Table Mountain and Other Stories • Bret Harte

... his love of reading. The solitariness of his life did him good, by throwing his mind in upon himself, and showing the mental stuff of which he was made. All the greatest and weightiest things have been done in solitude. ...

— Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist • Samuel Smiles

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