loner

noun

lon·​er ˈlō-nər 

1

: one that avoids others: such as

a

: a person who is often alone or likes to be alone : someone who usually avoids the company of others

He is a moody loner who doesn't become chummy with anyone.

—Sam Moses

Many rowers will agree that sculling is a sport for loners who relish the more quixotic elements of the sport.

—D. C. Churbuck

… she found that the image of the scientist as an antisocial loner is a myth …

—Warren E. Leary

b

: a typically solitary animal

Black bears are loners and usually wander by themselves in search of food.

—Mark Carwardine

Despite the fact they are loners, cats do have a well-organized social system based on scent marks and mutual avoidance.

—Fiona Sunquist

2

: individualist sense 1

Synonyms

• bohemian
• boho
• counterculturist
• deviant
• enfant terrible
• free spirit
• heretic
• iconoclast
• individualist
• lone ranger
• lone wolf
• maverick
• nonconformer
• nonconformist

Examples of loner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Each character is often an outlier, a loner or a misfit. —Stuart Neal, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

Can Kat trust her family or friends — or Josh? — ever again, or is she destined to become one of Manchester PD’s most vengeful loners. —Marah Eakin, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025

Flag and Frankenstein come together randomly, but these two loners end up bonding — and that connection was made literal by having Grillo and Harbour record their lines in person, a rarity in modern animation. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 26 Dec. 2024

And, by mating with other populations, these loners also help maintain genetic diversity within the species. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

loner

noun

lon·​er ˈlō-nər 

: one that avoids others

especially : individualist sense 1