Solitude and loneliness

[chispa]

english is not my language. so I want to know the difference between the words "solitude" and "loneliness"
thank you for your answer......

[Icarus]

While they have nearly identical meanings I would say that lonely has a stronger feeling of despair and negative undertones while solitude can be both good or bad, depending on the temperment of the person feeling solitude.
Note - the explanation I just gave is dependant on the use in speech and current writing, not on a dictionary entry.

[nome1486]

I would also add that "solitude" is usually used simply to describe the state of being alone, while "loneliness" has the stronger connotation of emotion and feelings, with negative undertones, as Icarus said.

[baddad]

loneliness...is a noun, but lonely (the state of feeling loneliness) is an adjective

solitude... is a noun.

Any of that help?

[dumptruckrabbit]

solitude is the state of not being in the presence of other people,
loneliness is the state of not being around other people and feeling bad about it.

[chispa]

Thank you all..........it is clear now.... ;)

[Shea]

loneliness is the state of not being around other people and feeling bad about it.


I don't know... I still feel pretty lonely even when I'm around other people (unless my husband is with me). I don't really like gatherings.