solitary life
Existence without company
A solitary life is one lived largely alone, whether by choice or circumstance.
The phrase often carries contemplative or spiritual overtones—monks and hermits lead solitary lives by design.
It can also suggest isolation or loneliness: After his wife died, he settled into a solitary life.
The emphasis falls on sustained aloneness rather than momentary solitude.
- hermitPerson choosing total seclusion
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- lone wolfSelf-reliant individualist
- isolationComplete separation from others
- lonelinessState of lacking companions
withdrawn · monk · cabin · wilderness · off the grid · quiet · introspection · alone · secluded · retreat · silence · contemplation · anchorite · cave · desert · desert island · ascetic · exile
- animal behaviorsswimming, running, walking, jumping, flying
- lifestylesminimalism, self-care, healthy eating, off-grid, homesteading
- solitudealone, isolation, aloneness, seclusion, solo
- hermitshermit, hermitage, recluse, anchorite, eremite
- hermit liferecluse, isolation, hermitage, monk, ascetic
- HobbesThomas Hobbes, Leviathan, state of nature, social contract, sovereign
solitary lifesocial life
Interpersonal recreational activity
community life · public life · communal life · communal living · monastic community
solitary lifecohabitation
Dwelling together unmarried
dormitory life · communal living · shared living · shared housing · family life
solitary lifemarried life
family life · partnership · domestic partnership · wedded bliss · parenthood
solitary, solitude, solitaire, sole, soloist, desolate, desolation, sullen, life