French word

seul

Pronunciation

IPA/sœl/

Meaning

  • adjectivealone

Example

Je suis seul ce soir.

I am alone tonight.

Illustration for seul (alone)

More examples

Après la fête, il est resté seul dans la cuisine.

After the party, he stayed alone in the kitchen.

Core concept

One figure remains by itself, or one item is the only member of its kind.

Common phrases

  • être seul

    be alone

  • tout seul

    all alone

  • le seul

    the only one

Similar words

célibataire: Unmarried and without a marital partner.
solitaire: Prone to feeling lonely when spending time alone.
isolé: Cut off from nearby people or things and not in contact with them.
unique: Existing as the sole example, with nothing else the same.

Definition in French

Mot qualifiant soit l'isolement d'une personne, soit l'unicité d'une chose selon le contexte.

Word origin

The adjective seul continues the Latin adjective solus through Old French and is cognate with English sole.

Usage tips

  • Seul agrees in gender and number as seule, seuls, and seules, although these forms usually have the same pronunciation.

Other meanings

  • onlyadjective

Opposites

  • accompagnéaccompaniedadjective
  • entourésurroundedadjective

Related words

Word lists with this word