alone

a·lone
A1L1O1N1E1
UK, UK/əˈləʊn/Northumbria, UK/əˈlɛːn/Scotland, UK/əˈlon/UK, Wales/əˈloːn/

adjective

By oneself, solitary.

“I can't ask for help because I am alone.”

Very commonScrabble 5

Meanings

adjectivealone (not comparable)
  1. not comparablepredicativeBy oneself, solitary.

    I can't ask for help because I am alone.

    3 more examples

    It is not good that the man should be alone.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis ii:18

    Alone on a wide, wide sea.

    1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    When Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. special forces during a historic raid in his native homeland, he wasn't alone. His wife, Cilia Flores, was also detained.

    2026 January 5, Callum Sutherland, “Who Is Cilia Flores? What to Know About Maduro’s Wife Amid Fall of Venezuela's First Couple”, in TIME, archived from the original on 23 Feb 2026

    Synonyms: on one's own, unaccompanied

    1. not comparablepredicativeNot involved in a romantic relationship.

      Synonyms: on one's own, unaccompanied, available, single, unattached, unpartnered

  2. not comparablepredicativeLacking peers who share one's beliefs, experiences, practices, etc.

    Senator Craddock wants to abolish the estate tax, and she's not alone.

    3 more examples

    I always organize my Halloween candy before eating it. Am I alone in this?

    Hungary's leader is not alone in eastern and southern Europe, where democratically elected populist strongmen increasingly dominate, deploying the power of the state and a battery of instruments of intimidation to crush dissent, demonise opposition, tame the media and tailor the system to their ends.

    2013 August 23, Ian Traynor, “Eastern European autocrats pose new test for democracy”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, archived from the original on 17 May 2023, page 1

    If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by it all, you’re not alone.

    2021 September 8, Ekua Hagan, “5 Ways to Restore Our Hope”, in Psychology Today

    Synonyms: deserted, forsaken, isolated

  3. not comparableobsoletepredicativeApart from, or exclusive of, others.

    God, […] by whose alone power and conversation we all live, and move, and have our being.

    1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693
    1 more example

    There are proofs enough in History, and first that beautiful Hynes, so much beloved by Charles the seventh King of France, who valued the alone possession of her Love at so high a rate, that[…]

    1662, Jacques Olivier, translated by Richard Banke, A Discourse of Women, Shewing Their Imperfections Alphabetically, →OCLC, page 18

    Synonyms: exclusive, sole

  4. not comparableobsoletepredicativeMere; consisting of nothing further.

    and therefore all Killing, Banishing, Fining, Imprisoning, and other such things, which Men are afflicted with, for the alone exercise of their Conscience, or difference in Worship or Opinion, proceedeth from the spirit of Cain, the Murderer, and is contrary to the Truth;

    1676, Robert Barclay, An Apology for the True Christian Divinity […]

    Synonyms: simple, only, very, bare, just, mere, only, simple

  5. not comparableobsoletepredicativeUnique; rare; matchless.

    Pardon me, Proteus, all I can is nothing / To her, whose worth makes other worthies nothing; / She is alone.

    c. 1589–1593, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, act 2, scene 4, lines 163–165

    Synonyms: nonpareil, peerless, unparalleled, azygous, incomparable, matchless, nonpareil, only

adverbalone (not comparable)
  1. not comparablepredicativeBy oneself; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo.

    She walked home alone.

    Synonyms: by one's lonesome, solitarily, solo, by one's lonesome, by oneself, isolatedly, lonelily, on one's bill

  2. not comparablepredicativeWithout outside help.

    The job was too hard for me to do alone.

    Synonyms: by oneself, by one's lonesome, singlehandedly, by oneself, by one's lonesome, on one's lonesome, on one's own, single-handed

  3. Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.
    1. not comparablepredicativeNot permitting anything further; exclusively.

      The president alone has the power to initiate a nuclear launch.

      2 more examples

      They must be told, that the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the People alone;

      1788, James Madison, Federalist No. 46^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Federalist_(Dawson)/45)

      The Senate (A.U.C. 514) decreed that the eldest son alone should bear his father's praenomen.

      1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xv

      Synonyms: entirely, solely, entirely, exclusively, expressly, merely, only, purely

    2. not comparablepredicativeNot requiring anything further; merely.

      Oral antibiotics alone won't clear the infection.

      2 more examples

      Except on matters of mere detail, there are perhaps no practical questions, even among those which approach nearest to the character of purely economical questions, which admit of being decided on economical premises alone.

      1871, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Principles_of_Political_Economy_(Mill),_vol._1)

      In writing this tale I had in mind not alone to please my young readers, but also to give them a fair picture of life on the ocean as it is to-day,

      1903, Arthur M. Winfield, The Rover Boys on Land and Sea
    3. broadlynot comparablepredicativeUsed to emphasize the size or extent of something by selecting a subset.

      The first sentence alone sold me on the book.

      4 more examples

      Her wardrobe is huge. She has three racks for blazers alone.

      In the first place, though Lady Burton published comparatively little, she was a voluminous writer, and she left behind her such a mass of letters and manuscripts that the sorting of them alone was a formidable task.

      1897, The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton

      “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

      1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

      In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.

      2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, page 74

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveBy oneself, solitary.

adjectiveNot involved in a romantic relationship.

adjectiveLacking peers who share one's beliefs, experiences, practices, etc.

adjectiveApart from, or exclusive of, others.

adjectiveMere; consisting of nothing further.

adverbNot permitting anything further; exclusively.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveisolated from others

Similar

adjectivelacking companions or companionship

adjectiveexclusive of anyone or anything else

adjectiveradically distinctive and without equal

adverbwithout any others being included or involved

adverbwithout anybody else or anything else

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂elnós
  3. Proto-Germanic*allaz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*all
  5. Old Englisheall
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  8. Proto-Germanic*ainaz
  9. Proto-West Germanic*ain
  10. Old Englishān
  11. Old Englisheall ān
  12. Middle Englishall oon
  13. Middle Englishallone
  14. Englishalone

From Middle English allone, from earlier all oon (literally “all one”), contracted from the Old English phrase eall ān (“completely alone”), equivalent to al- (“all”) + one. Cognate with Scots alane (“alone”), Saterland Frisian alleene (“alone”), West Frisian allinne (“alone”), Dutch alleen (“alone”), Low German alleen (“alone”), German allein (“alone”), Danish alene (“alone”), Swedish allena (“alone”). More at all and one. For the different phonological development of alone and one, see the note in one.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek μόνος
  • μόνος (mónos)by oneself
Arabic وَحِيد, مُنْفَرِد
  • وَحِيد (waḥīd)without company
  • مُنْفَرِد (munfarid)without company
  • لحال (laḥāl-)without company
Basque bakarrik, bakarrik
  • bakarrikwithout company
  • bakarrikwithout outside help
  • bakarrikonly
Bulgarian сам, сам
  • сам (sam)by oneself
  • сам (sam)without company
  • сам (sam)without outside help
  • самостоятелен (samostojatelen)without outside help
  • само (samo)only
  • единствено (edinstveno)only
Catalan sol, únic
  • solunique
  • únicunique
  • solby oneself
  • solwithout company
  • solwithout outside help
  • tot solwithout outside help
  • solonly
  • nomésonly
Chinese Mandarin 單獨 /单独, 獨自 /独自
  • 單獨 /单独 (dāndú)without company
  • 獨自 /独自 (dúzì)without company
Czech sám, sám
  • sámby oneself
  • sámwithout company
Danish alene, alene
  • aleneby oneself
  • alenewithout company
  • selvwithout outside help
  • alenewithout outside help
  • kunonly
  • aleneonly
Dutch alleen, alleen
  • alleenby oneself
  • alleenwithout company
  • alleenwithout outside help
Esperanto sola, sole
  • solaby oneself
  • solewithout company
Estonian üksi, üksinda
  • üksiwithout company
  • üksindawithout company
  • isewithout outside help
  • ainultonly
  • üksionly
Finnish ainutlaatuinen, yksinään
  • ainutlaatuinenunique
  • yksinäänby oneself
  • yksinäinenby oneself
  • yksinwithout company
  • yksinäänwithout company
  • yksikseenwithout company
  • itsekseenwithout company
  • yksinwithout outside help
  • yksinäänwithout outside help
  • itsekseenwithout outside help
  • yksinonly
  • ainoastaanonly
French seul, seul
  • seulby oneself
  • seulwithout company
German einzig, alleinig
  • einzigunique
  • alleinigunique
  • alleinby oneself
  • alleinwithout company
  • einsamwithout company
  • selbstwithout outside help
  • nuronly
  • ausschließlichonly
  • alleinonly
Greek μοναδικός, μόνος
  • μοναδικός (monadikós)unique
  • μόνος (mónos)by oneself
  • μόνος (mónos)without company
  • μόνος (mónos)without outside help
  • μόνο (móno)only
Hebrew לְבַד
  • לְבַד (levád)without company
Hindi अकेला, अकेला
  • अकेला (akelā)by oneself
  • अकेला (akelā)without company
Hungarian egyedül, egyedül
  • egyedülby oneself
  • egyedülwithout company
  • egymagábanwithout company
  • egyedülwithout outside help
  • egyedülonly
  • csakisonly
  • kizárólagonly
  • csupánonly
Icelandic einn, ein
  • einnby oneself
  • einwithout company
Indonesian sendiri, sendirian
  • sendiriby oneself
  • sendirianby oneself
Irish aonraic
  • aonraicby oneself
Italian da solo, solo
  • da solounique
  • solounique
  • soloby oneself
  • da soloby oneself
  • solowithout company
  • da solowithout company
  • soloonly
  • soltantoonly
  • solamenteonly
Japanese 一人, 単独
  • 一人 (hitori)without company
  • 単独 (dandoku)without company
Korean 홀로
  • 홀로 (hollo)without company
Latin sōlus, solus
  • sōlusby oneself
  • soluswithout company
Latvian tikai, viens pats
  • tikaiwithout company
  • viens patswithout company
Malay bersendirian
  • bersendirianwithout company
Māori tōtahi
  • tōtahiwithout company
Norwegian alene, bare
  • alenewithout outside help
  • bareonly
  • kunonly
  • aleneonly
Norwegian Bokmål alene
  • alenewithout company
Persian تنهایی, تنها
  • تنهایی (tanhâyi)without company
  • تنها (tanhâ)without company
  • یکه (yekke)without company
Polish sam, samotnie
  • samby oneself
  • samotniewithout company
  • samwithout outside help
  • samodzielniewithout outside help
Portuguese único, sozinho
  • únicounique
  • sozinhoby oneself
  • sóby oneself
  • sozinhowithout company
  • sozinhowithout outside help
  • sóonly
Romanian singur, singur
  • singurby oneself
  • singurwithout company
  • singuronly
Russian оди́н, сам
  • оди́н (odín)by oneself
  • сам (sam)by oneself
  • оди́н (odín)without company
  • одино́кий (odinókij)without company
  • сам (sam)without outside help
  • оди́н (odín)without outside help
  • самостоя́тельно (samostojátelʹno)without outside help
  • без посторо́нней по́мощи (bez postorónnej pómošči)without outside help
  • в одино́чку (v odinóčku)without outside help
  • оди́н (odín)only
  • то́лько (tólʹko)only
Slovak sám, sám
  • sámby oneself
  • sámwithout company
  • osamotewithout company
  • samostatnewithout outside help
  • jedineonly
  • výlučneonly
Spanish solo, solo
  • soloby oneself
  • solowithout company
  • solowithout outside help
Swedish allena, ensam
  • allenaunique
  • ensamby oneself
  • ensamwithout company
  • allenawithout company
  • självwithout outside help
  • baraonly
  • enbartonly
  • endastonly
Thai เดียว
  • เดียว (diao)without company
Turkish yalnız, yalnız
  • yalnızby oneself
  • yalnızwithout company
  • tekwithout company
Ukrainian сам, оди́н
  • сам (sam)by oneself
  • оди́н (odýn)by oneself
  • оди́н (odýn)without company
  • сам (sam)without company
  • сам (sam)without outside help
Urdu اَکیلَا, تنہا
  • اَکیلَا (akelā)by oneself
  • تنہا (tanhā)by oneself
  • اکیلا (akelā)without company
Vietnamese một mình, một mình
  • một mìnhwithout company
  • một mìnhwithout outside help
  • chỉonly
  • thôionly
Welsh unig
  • unigwithout company
Yiddish אַליין
  • אַליין (aleyn)without company

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with alone

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

alone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alone

MLA

“alone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alone. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alone,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alone.

Source: alone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.