devoid of creatures
"a lonely crossroads"
"a solitary retreat"
"a trail leading to an unfrequented lake"
Unhappy because of feeling isolated from contact with other people.
"She felt lonely sitting alone in the crowded room, longing for someone to talk to."
In plain English: Lonely means feeling sad because you are alone and miss having friends around.
"She felt lonely sitting at home with no friends to visit her that weekend."
Usage: Lonely describes an emotional state of unhappiness caused by isolation, whereas alone simply means being physically without others and does not necessarily imply sadness. Use this word when emphasizing the negative feelings associated with a lack of social connection rather than just describing someone's current location or company status.
The word lonely likely formed by adding the suffix -ly to lone or through a shortened version of alonely. It originally described someone who was alone and has retained that meaning in modern English.