alone
- 01 A2 Elementary
adj.being by yourself, without any other people around.
adj.being without companions or other people; used predicatively after a verb like 'be' or 'feel'.
Simple“She likes being alone in the house because it is very quiet.”
In context“After the guests departed, he finally felt alone in the vast apartment, enjoying the sudden silence of the evening.”
UsageTypically follows a linking verb; it is rarely used before a noun.
PitfallThe alone man sat on the bench. The man sat alone on the bench.In modern English, 'alone' is a predicative adjective. This means it usually comes after a verb like 'is' or 'sat', not before a noun.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.feeling that no one else understands you or shares your situation.
adj.lacking peers or others who share one's specific circumstances, beliefs, or experiences.
Simple“You are not alone in your struggle; many people feel the same way.”
In context“The researcher felt alone in her convictions until the latest data provided the evidence she needed to convince the board.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
adv.doing something without any help from other people.
adv.performing an action without assistance or external intervention.
Simple“He managed to fix the broken bicycle alone after watching a video.”
In context“The young entrepreneur built the entire software architecture alone, refusing to take on partners until the product was launched.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
adv.used to show that you are talking about just one person or thing and nothing else.
adv.a focus adverb used to exclude all others except the person or thing mentioned.
Simple“The price of the car alone is high, not including the insurance.”
In context“The sheer scale of the project alone was enough to intimidate the most experienced engineers on the team.”
UsageUsually placed immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies.
Synonyms
alone vs lonely — Alone is the physical state of being by yourself; lonely is the emotional pain of feeling disconnected.
Usage alone accounted · alone cannot
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.