1
: one that avoids others: such as
a
: a person who is often alone or likes to be alone : someone who usually avoids the company of others
He is a moody loner who doesn't become chummy with anyone.—
Sam Moses
Sam MosesMany rowers will agree that sculling is a sport for loners who relish the more quixotic elements of the sport.—D. C. Churbuck
D. C. Churbuck… she found that the image of the scientist as an antisocial loner is a myth …—Warren E. Leary
Warren E. Leary
b
: a typically solitary animal
Black bears are loners and usually wander by themselves in search of food.—Mark Carwardine
Mark CarwardineDespite the fact they are loners, cats do have a well-organized social system based on scent marks and mutual avoidance.—Fiona Sunquist
Fiona SunquistSynonyms
Examples of loner in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Most of Mangystau is a loner’s playground: empty, teal-water beaches, honeycomb rock formations, sacred underground shrines, and salt pans baking under a hard sun.
—J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 June 2024
Directed by Lynne Ramsay, the movie follows Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), an introverted loner who rescues women who find themselves in precarious positions.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 22 June 2024
That darn cat may have started out as a loner, but by the end, this small cadre of creatures have saved one another enough times to be inseparable.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 June 2024
With Richard Gere 45 Years After ‘American Gigolo’ – Cannes
The 1982 pic starred Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr. and follows a loner who sets out to finish his Navy Officer training while dealing with a tough-as-nails drill sergeant while also finding love with a local townie.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for loner 
J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 June 2024
Directed by Lynne Ramsay, the movie follows Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), an introverted loner who rescues women who find themselves in precarious positions.
—Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 22 June 2024
That darn cat may have started out as a loner, but by the end, this small cadre of creatures have saved one another enough times to be inseparable.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 June 2024
With Richard Gere 45 Years After ‘American Gigolo’ – Cannes
The 1982 pic starred Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr. and follows a loner who sets out to finish his Navy Officer training while dealing with a tough-as-nails drill sergeant while also finding love with a local townie.
—Justin Kroll, Deadline, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for loner
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'loner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near loner
Cite this Entry
“Loner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loner. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
loner
noun
lon·er
ˈlō-nər 
: one that avoids others
especially
: individualist sense 1
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