Synonyms of lonesome

lonesome

adjective

ˈlōn(t)-səm 

1

as in lonely

sad from lack of companionship or separation from others

a lonesome kitten left at the pound by its hard-hearted owners

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lonely
• lone
• solitary
• desolate
• forlorn
• lorn
• deserted
• neglected
• friendless
• rejected
• alone
• forgotten
• unaccompanied
• abandoned
• forsaken
• only
• sole
• solo

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accompanied
• attended
• escorted

2

as in lone

not being in the company of others

a lonesome cypress tree on a rocky, windswept point

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lonely
• lone
• solitary
• single
• solo
• alone
• unaccompanied
• deserted
• friendless
• on one's own
• secluded
• isolated
• abandoned
• separated
• unattended
• unchaperoned
• retired
• withdrawn
• isolate
• cloistered
• hermetical
• divided
• forlorn
• hermetic
• segregated
• insulated
• disassociated
• sequestered
• detached
• neglected
• disjointed
• forsaken
• remote
• lorn
• unconnected
• unattached
• forgotten
• quarantined
• disunited
• unlinked
• adrift
• desolate
• disconnected
• dissociated
• separate
• fractionated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• accompanied
• adjacent
• attended
• contiguous
• next-door
• adjoining
• neighboring
• coupled
• connected
• communicating
• attached
• chaperoned
• linked
• escorted

3

as in bleak

causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

the playground seems especially lonesome now that there are no young children in the neighborhood

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lonely
• bleak
• dark
• desolate
• somber
• depressive
• depressing
• darkening
• solemn
• cold
• murky
• gray
• grey
• morbid
• blue
• miserable
• depressed
• black
• wretched
• cheerless
• forlorn
• sad
• chill
• sullen
• morose
• dreary
• sombre
• gloomy
• disconsolate
• drear
• comfortless
• lugubrious
• glum
• funereal
• elegiac
• melancholy
• dismal
• sepulchral
• saturnine
• dire
• oppressive
• cloudy
• godforsaken
• unhappy
• desperate
• dreich
• elegiacal
• tenebrous
• plutonian
• Cimmerian
• mournful
• woebegone
• dejected
• sunless
• hopeless
• dull
• melancholic
• dim
• tenebrific
• despondent
• negative
• inconsolable
• hangdog
• distressful
• low
• discouraging
• woeful
• grim
• mirthless
• sorrowful
• down
• droopy
• distressing
• dispiriting
• menacing
• upsetting
• plaintive
• dismaying
• pessimistic
• discomfiting
• disheartening
• drab
• lamentable
• colorless
• dour
• threatening
• lowering
• louring
• loury
• lowery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cheerful
• bright
• friendly
• cheery
• gay
• festive
• comforting
• merry
• sunshiny
• cordial
• joyous
• jolly
• joyful
• gay
• buoyant
• blithe
• mirthful
• optimistic
• hopeful
• encouraging
• cheering
• blithesome
• heartwarming
• jocund
• lighthearted
• lightsome

Synonym Chooser

How is the word lonesome distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of lonesome are alone, desolate, forlorn, lonely, lone, and solitary. While all these words mean "isolated from others," lonesome heightens the suggestion of sadness and poignancy.

an only child often leads a lonesome life

When is alone a more appropriate choice than lonesome?

In some situations, the words alone and lonesome are roughly equivalent. However, alone stresses the objective fact of being by oneself with slighter notion of emotional involvement than most of the remaining terms.

everyone needs to be alone sometimes

When could desolate be used to replace lonesome?

While in some cases nearly identical to lonesome, desolate implies inconsolable grief at loss or bereavement.

desolate after her brother's death

When is it sensible to use forlorn instead of lonesome?

Although the words forlorn and lonesome have much in common, forlorn stresses dejection, woe, and listlessness at separation from one held dear.

a forlorn lost child

How does the word lone relate to other synonyms for lonesome?

Lone may replace lonely or lonesome but typically is as objective as alone.

a lone robin pecking at the lawn

How are the words lonely and solitary related as synonyms of lonesome?

Lonely adds to solitary a suggestion of longing for companionship.

felt lonely and forsaken

When can solitary be used instead of lonesome?

The meanings of solitary and lonesome largely overlap; however, solitary may indicate isolation as a chosen course, but more often it suggests sadness and a sense of loss.

glorying in the calm of her solitary life

left solitary by the death of his wife

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of lonesome

Beyond its many plot holes and lackluster plot, the second season saw Reacher team up with his ex-army buddies, which kind of defeats the entire point of Reacher being a one-man army who can take down even the most intimidating foes all by his lonesome. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

The penguin had left on a lonesome pilgrimage, solus rex, and no one had the slightest clue why. —Christian Kracht, Harper's Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024

Emo act Barely Civil has the perfect album for you, and for these times, throwing bitter screams against lonesome whispers, tender guitar melodies against heart-bursting rock onslaughts, grand statements against intimate emotional excavations. —Piet Levy, Journal Sentinel, 16 Dec. 2024

Scott’s Tom Ripley was a clean break from that of Matt Damon; instead of a petulant pretty boy seized by envy and lust, this Ripley was older (Scott is in his late forties) and scarier, a lonesome manipulator with a murderous gleam in his eye. —Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024