alone
/əˈloʊn/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.16 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
adj
adv
By oneself; apart from, or exclusive of, others; solo.
Example Sentences
- "I can't ask for help because I am alone."
- "It is not good that the man should be alone."
- "Alone on a wide, wide sea."
- "When Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. special forces during a historic raid in his native homeland, he wasn't alone. His wife, Cilia Flores, was also detained."
- "Senator Craddock wants to abolish the estate tax, and she's not alone."
- "I always organize my Halloween candy before eating it. Am I alone in this?"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h₂elnós Proto-Germanic *allaz Proto-West Germanic *all Old English eall Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-West Germanic *ain Old English ān Old English eall ān Middle English all oon Middle English allone English alone From Middle English allone, from earlier all oon (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. For the different phonological development of alone and one, see the note in one.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: allone, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈloʊn/
- British English: /əˈləʊn/