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View synonyms for alone

alone

[ uh-lohn ]

adjective

  1. separate, apart, or isolated from others:

    I want to be alone.

    Synonyms: unattended, unaccompanied, solitary, single

  2. to the exclusion of all others or all else:

    One cannot live by bread alone.

  3. He is alone among his peers in devotion to duty.



adverb

  1. solitarily; solo:

    She prefers to live alone.

  2. You alone hold the key to your happiness.

  3. without aid or help:

    The baby let go of the side of the crib and stood alone.

alone

/ əˈləʊn /

adjective

  1. apart from another or others; solitary
  2. without anyone or anything else

    one man alone could lift it

  3. without equal; unique

    he stands alone in the field of microbiology

  4. to the exclusion of others; only

    she alone believed him

  5. leave alone or leave be or let alone or let be
    to refrain from annoying or interfering with
  6. leave well alone or leave well enough alone or let well alone or let well enough alone
    to refrain from interfering with something that is satisfactory
  7. let alone
    much less; not to mention

    he can't afford beer, let alone whisky



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Usage Note

See leave 1.

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Other Words From

  • a·lone·ness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of alone1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English al one all (in the sense “wholly”) one

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Word History and Origins

Origin of alone1

Old English al one, literally: all (entirely) one

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. leave / let well enough alone, to be satisfied with the existing situation; refrain from attempting to change conditions:

    Marriages are often destroyed by relatives who will not let well enough alone.

  2. leave alone. leave 1( def 18 ).
  3. let alone. let 1( def 16 ).

More idioms and phrases containing alone

see go it alone ; leave someone alone ; leave well enough alone ; let alone .

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Synonym Study

Alone, lone, lonely, lonesome all imply being without companionship or association. Alone is colorless unless reinforced by all; it then suggests solitariness or desolation: alone in the house; all alone on an island. Lone is somewhat poetic or is intended humorously: a lone sentinel. Lonely implies a sad or disquieting feeling of isolation. Lonesome connotes emotion, a longing for companionship.

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Example Sentences

Genetics alone does not an eating disorder make, generally speaking, and Bulik points out that environment still plays a role.

I watch every episode alone on my couch and I just sit there and laugh, and laugh.

By contrast, John McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, had raised approximately $12.7 million in the first quarter of 2007 alone.

Nor should we ever assume that weather alone, however extreme, should be fatal to a commercial flight.

Women and children are disproportionately victims, but they are not alone.

Ten minutes later, veiled and cloaked, she stepped out alone into the garden.

The two women had no intention of bathing; they had just strolled down to the beach for a walk and to be alone and near the water.

When we were mounted Mac leaned over and muttered an admonitory word for Piegan's ear alone.

If Mac had been alone he would have made the post by sundown, for the Mounted Police rode picked horses, the best money could buy.

Alone Orlean lay trying vainly to forget something—something that stood like a spectre before her eyes.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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aloinalong