solitude
Peaceful deliberate isolation
Solitude is the state of being alone, but without the negative weight of loneliness.
Where loneliness implies unwanted isolation, solitude suggests chosen or peaceful aloneness: She sought solitude in the mountains.
Writers and artists often prize solitude as necessary for creative work.
A solitude can also mean a remote, uninhabited place: the Arctic solitudes.
Meditative calm
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- tranquilityUndisturbed peacefulness
presence · awareness · mantra · breathing · centering · focus · calm · quietude
State of lacking companions
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
- alienationState of being isolated
- solitarinessState of being alone
- reclusivenessState of avoiding society
withdrawal · estrangement · aloofness · detachment · hermitage · separateness · disconnection · insularity
Cloistered religious living
- asceticismSevere self-denial practice
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- hermitPerson choosing total seclusion
- anchoriteReligious recluse in enclosure
cloister · abbey · contemplative · renunciation · monk · nun · ashram · cenobite
Examining one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
- self-discoveryLearning one's true character
meditation · self-awareness · self-questioning · mindfulness · rumination · reflection · self-scrutiny · self-analysis
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- outpostRemote military station
- cabinSimple wooden dwelling
retreat · hideaway · sanctuary · refuge · haven · off-grid · hinterland · isolated
Forced removal from place
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- expatriationLeaving one's native country
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
diaspora · refugee · castaway · pariah · marooned · forsaken · ostracism · expulsion
Source of creative impulse
- writingRecorded language on surface
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- studioCreative professional's workspace
- artistMaker of creative works
thinker · muse · productivity · concentration · focus · uninterrupted · workspace · imagination
zen
Meditative calm
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- silenceTotal lack of sound
tranquility · presence · awareness · mantra · breathing · centering · focus · calm · quietude · serenity
loneliness
State of lacking companions
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
- alienationState of being isolated
- solitarinessState of being alone
reclusiveness · withdrawal · estrangement · aloofness · detachment · hermitage · separateness · disconnection · insularity · loner
monasticism
Cloistered religious living
- asceticismSevere self-denial practice
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- hermitPerson choosing total seclusion
anchorite · cloister · abbey · contemplative · renunciation · monk · nun · ashram · cenobite · eremite
self-reflection
Examining one's own mind
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- soul-searchingProbing one's innermost feelings
- self-examinationScrutiny of one's thoughts
self-discovery · meditation · self-awareness · self-questioning · mindfulness · rumination · reflection · self-scrutiny · self-analysis · journaling
wilderness
Uncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
- backcountrySparsely populated wilderness areas
- outpostRemote military station
cabin · retreat · hideaway · sanctuary · refuge · haven · off-grid · hinterland · isolated · uninhabited
banishment
Forced removal from place
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- expatriationLeaving one's native country
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
excommunication · diaspora · refugee · castaway · pariah · marooned · forsaken · ostracism · expulsion · displaced
inspiration
Source of creative impulse
- writingRecorded language on surface
- reflectionReturned light or thought
- studioCreative professional's workspace
artist · thinker · muse · productivity · concentration · focus · uninterrupted · workspace · imagination · clarity
- CastawaysRobinson Crusoe, castaway, Gilligan, shipwreck, stranded
- isolationloneliness, quarantine, seclusion, lockdown, disconnection
- meditationbreathing meditation, breath, breath meditation, mantra, breathing
- privacyprivacy, private, seclusion, confidentiality, privacy rights
- private spherehome, family, diary, secrets, bedroom
- solitudealone, isolation, aloneness, seclusion, lone
solitudecompany
Commercial enterprise or guests
companionship · togetherness · society · fellowship · community
solitudecompanionship
State of having company
friendship · comradeship · camaraderie · fellowship · togetherness
- calm solitudeRestful state alone
- silence and solitudeAbsence of sound, company
- peaceful solitudeCalm state of being alone
- fortress of solitudeSecluded personal sanctuary
- One Hundred Years of SolitudeMultigenerational Latin American epic