Most people often joke about English being a funny language. The reason is that there are many words that people, irrespective of their expertise in the language, find confusing. ‘Lonely’ and ‘alone’ is one such pair. People often make mistakes as both these words seem to be similar. This article will help students understand the difference between these two words and make sure that they can use these in the right context. You can find a number of articles on words that are often misinterpreted in the English Language section on BYJU’S website. This article will cover up the following topics. Let’s have a look at them.
- Table Summarising the Difference between Lonely and Alone
- The Difference between Lonely and Alone – Meanings
- Examples for Lonely and Alone
- Lonely and Alone – Conclusion
Table Summarising the Difference between Lonely and Alone
| Lonely | Alone | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Lonely refers to a feeling that is caused by abandonment. | Alone refers to a time when a person is separated and far from a group of individuals. |
| Usage | Used as an adjective. | Used as either adjective or adverb. |
| Example | Raj feels lonely in a foreign land. | Sheldon is standing alone in the hall. |
If you go through the above table, you will notice what makes the meaning of lonely different from that of alone. One has to understand the meaning of both words to learn the appropriate usage of these words.
The Difference between Lonely and Alone – Meanings
When the word ‘lonely’ is used, it simply refers to a feeling a person experiences. The feeling of loneliness is experienced by someone who feels separated or doesn’t have any/limited friends. Feeling lonely can be psychological, and one can feel lonely while being inside of a crowd too, whereas alone refers to a time when a person is on their own or when no one is around or present with them. Being alone can make one feel lonely, but one might not be alone yet feel lonely. The term ‘lonely’ can only be used as an adjective, i.e. to describe the person, e.g. ‘Simmy was feeling lonely in the new city.’ Here, ‘lonely’ describes how Simmy is feeling, whereas ‘alone’ can be used both as an adverb as well as an adjective. For example, ‘Sam went inside the building alone’. Here, ‘alone’ is used as an adverb describing how Sam went inside the building. On the other hand, in ‘Shelly alone got a prize’, ‘alone’ is used as an adjective as it describes that Shelly was the only person who got the award.
Examples of Lonely and Alone
The following examples will help students understand better the terms ‘lonely’ and ‘alone’:
Lonely – Sameera was feeling lonely with a hundred people around her.
Alone – Sam was alone in the auditorium.
Once students understand the meaning of ‘lonely’ and ‘alone’, they can easily form examples on their own.
Lonely and Alone – Conclusion
To sum up, ‘lonely’ and ‘alone’ are not at all synonymous in nature and can’t be used interchangeably. One has to understand the context while using these two words. This article walks us through the important points that help us understand when, where and how to use these two terms. BYJU’S offers many such pairs of words that are often misinterpreted by people. You can use our main website for your reference and understand the differences between them.
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