solitude
pronunciation
How to pronounce solitude in British English:
UK [ˈsɒlətjuːd]
How to pronounce solitude in American English:
US [ˈsɑːlətuːd]
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- Noun:
- a state of social isolation
- a solitary place
- a disposition toward being alone
Word Origin
- solitude (n.)
- mid-14c., from Old French solitude "loneliness" (14c.) and directly from Latin solitudinem (nominative solitudo) "loneliness, a being alone; lonely place, desert, wilderness," from solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). "Not in common use in English until the 17th c." [OED] A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; ... if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free. [Schopenhauer, "The World as Will and Idea," 1818] Solitudinarian "recluse, unsocial person" is recorded from 1690s.
Example
- 1. Solitude used to be good for self-reflection and self-reinvention .
- 2. But the most difficult change wrought by unemployment is solitude and isolation .
- 3. Friendship needs no words - it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness .
- 4. Solitude makes monsters of both .
- 5. At first , my response was to choose even deeper solitude .