From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlonelylone‧ly /ˈləʊnli $ ˈloʊn-/ ●●● S3 adjective (comparative lonelier, superlative loneliest) 1 ALONEunhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to SYN lonesome American English a lonely old man Don’t you get lonely being on your own all day? ► Do not use lonely to mean ‘without anyone else’. Use alone: She is afraid to travel alone (NOT travel lonely).2 a lonely experience or situation makes you unhappy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to a lonely journeylonely life/existence He led a lonely life with few friends.3 → the lonely4 EMPTYa lonely place is a long way from where people live and very few people go there SYN lonesome American English, remote, desolatelonely place/road/spot etc —loneliness noun [uncountable]THESAURUSlonely (also lonesome American English) unhappy because you are alone or do not have any friendsTammy felt very lonely when she first arrived in New York.Our neighbor George is a very lonely man.I get so lonesome here with no one to talk to.isolated lonely because your situation makes it difficult for you to meet peoplePeople caring for sick relatives often feel very isolated.Children of very rich parents can grow up isolated from the rest of society.alienated feeling that you do not belong in a particular place or groupShe felt very alienated as the only woman in the company.In high school she felt somehow different and alienated from other students.homesick unhappy because you are a long way from your home and the people who live thereWhen I first went to Germany, I was very homesick.miss somebody used when saying that you feel unhappy because someone is not there with youI miss you.She misses her friends.
Examples from the Corpus
lonely• Audrey got on well with the other student, and felt that without her she might have been lonely.• Philip was not allowed to be lonely.• Studies have consistently reported that the vast majority of older people, approximately 95 percent, never feel lonely.• He would never be sure, but for a split second he fancied he saw Hudson watching him, lonely and lost.• To prepare them to go into a world that does seem pretty lonely and unkind and cold.• She left me at a lonely crossroads.• Our neighbor George is a very lonely man.• Tammy felt very lonely when she first arrived in New York.• Jay was never lonely with Nurse Dees nearby.lonely life/existence• It's better to keep trying to find love than to live a lonely life.• It is a hard, lonely life.• That's why he lived a lonely life and locked all his doors so carefully.• I saw what a cold, lonely life awaited me in this country.• His had been an isolated and lonely existence, despite the people perpetually at his side.• I tried to imagine why he lived such a quiet and lonely life in this far-off place.• Here someday my lonely existence will be filled with laughter.lonely place/road/spot etc• I could not see the boy, and there was nothing else in that lonely place.• It was a wild and lonely place.• Truth be told, the Web is sort of a lonely place.• It was a lonely spot, and no-one would know for a few days.• The final third of the old course was a lonely place for runners.• They remind you of a bunch of schoolboys wandering down a lonely road, kicking a ball along. 