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say it: SAH-luh-ter-ee
solitary is an adjective and noun meaning "characterized by or preferring solitude". It is pronounced /ˈsɑləˌtɛɹi/ — SAH-luh-ter-ee. It carries 7 recorded senses.
of plants and animals; not growing or living in groups or colonies
“solitary bees”
lacking companions or companionship
“he was alone when we met him”
“she is alone much of the time”
“the lone skier on the mountain”
“a lonely fisherman stood on a tuft of gravel”
“a lonely soul”
“a solitary traveler”
devoid of creatures
“a lonely crossroads”
“a solitary retreat”
“a trail leading to an unfrequented lake”
confinement of a prisoner in isolation from other prisoners
“he was held in solitary”
one who lives in solitude
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for solitary come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.