What does "alone" mean?
By oneself, solitary.
Alone
/əˈləʊn/ adj, adv
adj, adv ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: By oneself, solitary.
- Grammar: alone is listed as adj, adv.
- Nearest alternatives: only, solitary, abandoned, absolute.
- Useful contrasts: accompanied, groupwise, in company.
- Usage evidence: It's because you don't want to be alone.
How to use "alone"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "alone" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "alone" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "alone" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "alone" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "alone" is acting as adj, adv in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "only" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "alone", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 By oneself, solitary. not-comparable, predicative
"I can't ask for help because I am alone."
- 2 By oneself, solitary.; Not involved in a romantic relationship. not-comparable, predicative
- 3 Lacking peers who share one's beliefs, experiences, practices, etc. not-comparable, predicative
"Senator Craddock wants to abolish the estate tax, and she's not alone."
- 4 Apart from, or exclusive of, others. not-comparable, obsolete, predicative
"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[…]"
- 5 Mere; consisting of nothing further. not-comparable, obsolete, predicative
"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;"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Unique; rare; matchless. not-comparable, obsolete, predicative
"Pardon me, Proteus, all I can is nothing / To her, whose worth makes other worthies nothing; / She is alone."
Adjective
- 1 radically distinctive and without equal wordnet
- 2 exclusive of anyone or anything else wordnet
- 3 isolated from others wordnet
- 4 lacking companions or companionship wordnet
Adverb
- 1 By oneself; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo. not-comparable, predicative
"She walked home alone."
- 2 Without outside help. not-comparable, predicative
"The job was too hard for me to do alone."
- 3 Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.; Not permitting anything further; exclusively. not-comparable, predicative
"The president alone has the power to initiate a nuclear launch."
- 4 Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.; Not requiring anything further; merely. not-comparable, predicative
"Oral antibiotics alone won't clear the infection."
- 5 Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.; Used to emphasize the size or extent of something by selecting a subset. broadly, not-comparable, predicative
"Her wardrobe is huge. She has three racks for blazers alone."
Adverb
- 1 without any others being included or involved wordnet
- 2 without anybody else or anything else wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"It's because you don't want to be alone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "alone"?
Common synonyms include: only, solitary, abandoned, absolute, alienated, all alone.
How do you use "alone" in a sentence?
It's because you don't want to be alone.
How do you pronounce "alone"?
Pronounced /əˈləʊn/.
Etymology
From Middle English allone, from earlier all oon (“alone”, 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. Regarding the different phonological development of alone and one, see the note in one.