solitude

Everyday

1. Solitude is being alone, usually in a quiet, peaceful way that you have chosen. tree →
2. Solitude can also mean a lonely, empty place where few people go (formal, in stories and poems). tree →

In the lessons

In stories it describes a character who likes or suffers being alone: a hermit, a lighthouse keeper, a person lost in the woods. In everyday life it means quiet time to think, read or rest. Phrases: in solitude, peace and solitude, enjoy solitude.

Examples

• After the busy party, Ella enjoyed an hour of solitude in her room. tree →
• The old lighthouse keeper lived in solitude on the rock. tree →
• Some people find solitude peaceful, others find it lonely. tree →
• He walked in the woods for peace and solitude. tree →
• Cats often seem to like their solitude. tree →
• She wrote her poems in solitude by the lake. tree →
• The prince walked on in solitude till he reached the city. tree →

Note

Solitude is not the same as loneliness: solitude is being alone (often by choice and pleasant); loneliness is feeling sad because you have no one. It is uncountable: «a lot of solitude», not «solitudes» (except in poems).

In Jewish tradition

It is one of the pairs of opposites tied to the double letters, as in fertility and desolation.

Interpretation. Each double letter is read as holding both a good and a bad outcome, like a power that can be used well or badly.

Examples

• They are called Double, because each letter presents a contrast or permutation; thus Life and Death; Peace and War (Evil); Wisdom and Folly; Riches and Poverty; Grace and Indignation; Fertility and Solitude (Desolation); Power and Servitude. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Solitude is not the same as loneliness: solitude is being alone (often by choice and pleasant); loneliness is feeling sad because you have no one. It is uncountable: «a lot of solitude», not «solitudes» (except in poems).