alone
adjective
- Being by oneself
- isolated, unaccompanied, unique
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L333719 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /əˈləʊn/ / /əˈloʊn/ / /əˈlon/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-West Germanic *all Old English eall Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-West Germanic *ain Old English ān Old English eall ān Middle English all oon Middle English allone English alone 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.
- By oneself, solitary.
“I can't ask for help because I am alone.”
“It is not good that the man should be alone.”
- By oneself, solitary.
- Lacking peers who share one's beliefs, experiences, practices, etc.
“Senator Craddock wants to abolish the estate tax, and she's not alone.”
“I always organize my Halloween candy before eating it. Am I alone in this?”
- Apart from, or exclusive of, others.
“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[…]”
“God, […] by whose alone power and conversation we all live, and move, and have our being.”
- Mere; 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;”
- Unique; rare; matchless.
“Pardon me, Proteus, all I can is nothing / To her, whose worth makes other worthies nothing; / She is alone.”
adv
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-West Germanic *all Old English eall Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-West Germanic *ain Old English ān Old English eall ān Middle English all oon Middle English allone English alone 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.
- By oneself; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo.
“She walked home alone.”
- Without outside help.
“The job was too hard for me to do alone.”
- Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.
“The president alone has the power to initiate a nuclear launch.”
“They must be told, that the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the People alone;”
- Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.
“Oral antibiotics alone won't clear the infection.”
“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.”
- Focus adverb, typically modifying a noun and occurring immediately after it.
“Her wardrobe is huge. She has three racks for blazers alone.”
“The first sentence alone sold me on the book.”