loneliness
gb/lˈoʊnlinəs/ us/lˈoʊnlinəs/
B1
English
~ 6600
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
state
1
painful feeling of being alone
A sad feeling you have when you are alone or feel that no one is close to you.
Usage pattern:
feel [loneliness]; [someone]'s loneliness
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "loneliness" with "solitude." "Loneliness" is usually negative and painful, while "solitude" can be neutral or even positive (enjoying being alone). Another mistake is using it as a count noun (e.g., *"many lonelinesses"*); it is almost always uncountable.
Synonyms
lonely feeling (More informal and descriptive; often used in speech to highlight the emotional side.)
|
isolation (Can be emotional or physical; slightly more formal and broader than loneliness.)
|
aloneness (Focuses on the state of being alone; may sound a bit more literary or reflective.)
|
heartache (Emphasizes emotional pain, especially in relationships, not only from being alone.)
Antonyms
companionship (Highlights having other people with you in a friendly, comforting way.)
|
connection (Focuses on emotional closeness and feeling understood by others.)
|
belonging (Emphasizes feeling accepted as part of a group or community.)
Collocations
deep loneliness
|overwhelming loneliness
|feel loneliness
|struggle with loneliness
|a wave of loneliness
|pain of loneliness
Themes
emotions
|psychology
|relationships
|daily life
Examples
- After the breakup, she was surprised by the intense loneliness she felt in her own apartment.
- He tried to stay busy so the loneliness wouldn’t hit him at night.
- Moving to a new country brought excitement, but also a deep loneliness he hadn’t expected.
- The old man’s eyes showed a loneliness that words could not describe.
- Fame did not protect her from the crushing loneliness she felt offstage.
Learner examples
- She felt great loneliness after her best friend moved away.
- At night, his loneliness was very strong.
- Talking to a pet can help reduce loneliness.
- Loneliness can be very hard for people who live alone.
- He joined a club to escape his loneliness.
Noun
B2
state
2
state of lacking relationships
A situation where someone does not have close friends or enough social contact, often for a long time.
Usage pattern:
[someone] lives in loneliness; problem of [loneliness]
Common mistake:
Learners may not see the difference between loneliness as a personal feeling and loneliness as a wider social problem. In this sense, the word often appears with terms like "public health," "research," or "policy." It is still uncountable and not usually used in the plural.
Synonyms
social isolation (More technical and formal; often used in health and policy discussions about people being cut off from others.)
|
disconnection (Focuses on the lack of social links or networks rather than the feeling itself.)
Antonyms
social inclusion (Used in social-policy and community contexts to mean active participation in society and access to relationships.)
|
community (Suggests a network of supportive relationships that counteract loneliness.)
Collocations
social loneliness
|chronic loneliness
|epidemic of loneliness
|modern loneliness
|isolation and loneliness
|loneliness in old age
Themes
psychology
|health
|society
|relationships
Examples
- Researchers warn that long-term loneliness can increase the risk of heart disease and depression.
- Governments are starting to treat loneliness as a major public health issue.
- The report highlighted the loneliness experienced by many older adults living in cities.
- Online groups were created to reduce loneliness during the lockdowns.
- Her project focuses on loneliness among new parents who lack family support.
Learner examples
- Loneliness is a big problem for many old people.
- Some doctors say that loneliness can be bad for your health.
- The city is trying to reduce loneliness with free community events.
- The survey shows high levels of loneliness among students.
- He studies loneliness and how it affects society.
Noun
B2
property
3
emptiness or remoteness of a place
The empty and quiet feeling of a place where there are almost no people.
Usage pattern:
the loneliness of [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this use always includes strong sadness. Here, "loneliness" can be neutral or even positive, simply describing an empty and quiet place. It usually appears with "of" plus a place ("the loneliness of the desert").
Synonyms
emptiness (Focuses on the lack of people or things; can be physical or emotional.)
|
remoteness (Highlights the distance from other people or places more than the emotional effect.)
Antonyms
bustle (Suggests busy movement and noise, often from a crowd, which is the opposite of a lonely place.)
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liveliness (Emphasizes energy and activity, not a quiet empty space.)
Collocations
the loneliness of the desert
|the vast loneliness
|the loneliness of the road
|the loneliness of the countryside
|the cold loneliness
|the wild loneliness
Themes
nature
|travel
|emotions
|space
Examples
- They drove for hours through the flat, endless loneliness of the desert.
- She loved the loneliness of the beach in winter, when almost no one else was there.
- The film captures the bleak loneliness of the Arctic landscape.
- After sunset, the loneliness of the mountain village became intense.
- The writer describes the loneliness of the open sea in vivid detail.
Learner examples
- He enjoyed the loneliness of the empty beach.
- The loneliness of the long road made him think a lot.
- They were afraid of the loneliness of the forest at night.
- The loneliness of the small island was beautiful but also scary.
- We could feel the loneliness of the wide, empty land.
Grammar
Dictionary form
loneliness
IPA
GB/lˈoʊnlinəs/
US/lˈoʊnlinəs/
Syllables & stress
loneli - ness (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (loneli)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: loneliness
- Plural: loneliness
Word family
Expressions
a sense of loneliness
1/ə sˈɛns əv lˈoʊnlinəs/
fixed phrase
a feeling of being lonely
The feeling that you are lonely or socially alone.
Examples
- Living abroad, she often had a sense of loneliness even when surrounded by people.
- After his children moved out, a sense of loneliness filled the house.
- He couldn’t shake the sense of loneliness that came every Sunday evening.
die of loneliness
1/dˈaɪ əv lˈoʊnlinəs/
fixed phrase
literary
suffer greatly from loneliness
To suffer very strongly from loneliness, sometimes used literally but often as a strong way to say someone is extremely lonely.
Examples
- She joked that she would die of loneliness if she had to live in the countryside.
- Some people say their pets would die of loneliness without regular attention.
- The story is about an old man who almost dies of loneliness after his wife passes away.
loneliness and isolation
1/lˈoʊnlinəs ˈænd ˌaɪsəlˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
being lonely and cut off
A situation where someone feels lonely and is also very cut off from other people.
Examples
- The report links loneliness and isolation to higher rates of illness.
- Loneliness and isolation are major problems for people who work from home and live alone.
- The charity was founded to fight loneliness and isolation among older adults.
overwhelmed by loneliness
1/ˌoʊvɚwˈɛlmd bˈaɪ lˈoʊnlinəs/
fixed phrase
strongly affected by loneliness
To feel loneliness so strongly that it is hard to manage your emotions.
Examples
- On some nights he was overwhelmed by loneliness in his small apartment.
- She suddenly felt overwhelmed by loneliness at the party.
- After the call ended, he sat in silence, overwhelmed by loneliness.
struggle with loneliness
1/stɹˈʌɡəl wˈɪθ lˈoʊnlinəs/
fixed phrase
have difficulty because of loneliness
To find life hard because you often feel lonely.
Examples
- Many university students secretly struggle with loneliness in their first year away from home.
- He has struggled with loneliness since his wife died.
- Support groups can help people who struggle with loneliness feel less alone.