solitude

One entry found for solitude.

Main Entry: sol·i·tude
Pronunciation: 'sä-l&-"tüd, -"tyüd
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin solitudin-, solitudo, from solus
1 : the quality or state of being alone or remote from society : SECLUSION
2 : a lonely place (as a desert)
synonyms SOLITUDE, ISOLATION, SECLUSION mean the state of one who is alone. SOLITUDE may imply a condition of being apart from all human beings or of being cut off by wish or circumstances from one's usual associates <a few quiet hours of solitude>. ISOLATION stresses detachment from others often involuntarily <the isolation of the village in winter>. SECLUSION suggests a shutting away or keeping apart from others often connoting deliberate withdrawal from the world or retirement to a quiet life <lived in pastoral seclusion>.