How to Use lonesome in a Sentence

lonesome

1 of 2 adjective
  • The empty house seemed so lonesome.
  • He was lonesome for his family.
  • Her heart broke over a song in the wind, the unanswered call of a lonesome bird.
    — Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2012
  • Sometimes, though, choanos decide that a lonesome life is not enough.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2022
  • Long lines line the long, long track Of another lonesome train.
    — Neil Genzlinger, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023
  • The north side is a different place—steep, glaciated, lonesome.
    — Christopher Solomon, Outside Online, 22 Mar. 2018
  • Now, the Irish artist will be hitting the road by his lonesome for the first time, with a tour fit for a folk star.
    — Sadie Bell, Billboard, 10 July 2017
  • My knee boots are going to be lonesome for the next six months — until the spring thaw surprises me.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Oct. 2020
  • Meanwhile, in right field, Jake Fraley hung out all by his lonesome.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Then, the breathing, coming from one side of his lonesome little guard booth and now from the other.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Apr. 2018
  • Family voices weave in and out in high and lonesome harmonies.
    — Pat McDonogh, The Courier-Journal, 23 Dec. 2019
  • On those vast and lonesome horizons, a policeman would have been welcome.
    — Paul Salopek, National Geographic, 25 Oct. 2019
  • People can use them to enjoy the other things on the tray, and also to snack on bare naked on their lonesome.
    — Katie Workman, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2019
  • A lot of the old fiddle songs — from waltzes to swing to slow lonesome songs — seem to encapsulate a voice for me.
    — Thor Christensen, Dallas News, 30 June 2023
  • The animation above records the final leg of that long and lonesome journey.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2014
  • Here are a few features to consider before heading down that lonesome trail.
    — The Editors, Outdoor Life, 19 Nov. 2019
  • And that's also with Levine holding television time all to his lonesome.
    — David Smiley, miamiherald, 8 May 2018
  • Those events end the saga of the junkyard gang, as Jadis is left by her lonesome eating a can of applesauce.
    — Troy L. Smith, cleveland.com, 4 Mar. 2018
  • Nothing makes a person feel more like a lonesome cowboy than being forced to stare down the open highway of the rest of his life.
    — Brittany Spanos, Smithsonian, 19 Nov. 2019
  • While the stations may be gorgeous but a bit lonesome, the train experience is buoyant and alive.
    — Lilit Marcus, CNN, 30 Mar. 2023
  • After the shocking betrayal, Nate has gone gray and is seen nursing a glass of red wine by his lonesome.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2023
  • Del McCoury and his high lonesome tenor are back in Maryland to pick a few over the long weekend.
    — Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, 26 May 2023
  • For an extra five grand, there’s a two-burner induction cooktop and a sink, for those lonesome nights out on the range with the dogies.
    — John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
  • But the former Hilltop leader winds up stealing Gabriel's car and leaving the good priest all by his lonesome.
    — Troy L. Smith, cleveland.com, 22 Oct. 2017
  • The watery consommé subsumed what few masa dumplings swam their lonesome swirls in the bowl, with cobs of corn left like derelict buoys in the sloppy orange miasma.
    — Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Despite the mounds of evidence that appear to be stacked against the lonesome Danny, Seyfried's Rya has faith in him.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 10 May 2023
  • The town of Langtang sits in the mountains of southern China, a lonesome stretch of majestic land where few outsiders stop.
    — New York Times, 27 Apr. 2021
  • During the beta testing phase this May, hardly anyone was approved to be a beta tester, so the worlds of Maple were lonesome.
    — Shannon Liao, The Verge, 4 Nov. 2018
  • Set in the Iranian ghost town of Bad City, a lonesome vampire that stalks the local residents.
    — Ashley Nkadi, Teen Vogue, 30 Oct. 2018
  • The singer’s unerring falsettos as the strangers-when-we-meet song reached its soaringly lonesome peaks established that this would be a night when one of rock’s all-time great singers would be in peak form.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2022

lonesome

2 of 2 noun
  • Start with a bit of steak by its lonesome.
    — Eric Wareheim, Saveur, 26 Feb. 2026
  • All those lonesome, forsaken, snuffed-out lives.
    — Huda Fakhreddine august 28, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
  • To hear and listen to those distinct sounds, those lonesome sounds, those happy sounds.
    — Trisha Gopal, CNN, 5 Sep. 2020
  • Dude can’t carry the Rams to the postseason again all by his lonesome.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
  • All in all, Jones should have the power to uplift this shaky defense on his lonesome.
    — Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Well — yes, for animals, not so much for the lonesome, sheltering-in-place humans.
    — Mandy Behbehani, SFChronicle.com, 3 June 2020
  • There, by its lonesome, sits a nondescript, three-foot long sledgehammer with tape dripping off the frame and pine tar around the top.
    — Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, 19 May 2021
  • Which seemed to work just fine until absent fans got a look at Ehlinger all by his lonesome, a powerful image at that.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 17 Oct. 2020
  • But whether the region becomes a national lodestar or remains on its lonesome remains an open question.
    — Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2021
  • Luke Hemsworth also joined the outing and shared a hilarious video of himself singing by his lonesome while on a ski lift.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 26 Dec. 2021
  • Her recent favorite discovery was a vintage crystal heart earring all by its lonesome.
    — Micaela English, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026
  • May no one reading this ever have to repack a rug and lug it to your local UPS drop-off point all on your lonesome.
    — Elise Taylor, Vogue, 15 Jan. 2022
  • The move towards belting out tunes on one’s lonesome does not seem to have affected musical preferences.
    — The Economist, 22 Aug. 2019
  • Before the festival, huge cranes were hoisting a stage into place while a construction worker played hacky sack by his lonesome.
    — Steven Blum, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026
  • Just stick to the one lonesome individually wrapped container of corn.
    — Patrick Varone, Harper's BAZAAR, 4 Apr. 2014
  • Follow-up images show Kardashian posing by her lonesome, as others see the mother of one on the red carpet for the premiere event.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 9 Apr. 2022
  • Authoring this noisy, jazzy track all by his lonesome, Weir vocally zig-zagged his way across a cluttered arrangement flush with oddball time changes.
    — A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The 21st person, who remained stuck on another car by their lonesome, was rescued several hours later.
    — Emmett Jones, Fox News, 3 Jan. 2022
  • Many of the most important Western films have, in one way or another, complicated the lonesome-and-noble male archetype.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2022
  • Instead, the new year seemed poised to only offer shots of a weary-looking Ben collecting his daily Dunkin’ order by his lonesome.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 4 Mar. 2021
  • The silver Chrysler Sebring glinted when the sun kissed the parking lot in Temple, Texas, sitting by its lonesome.
    — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 8 May 2026
  • About 90 minutes earlier in the game, Thornton sprinted down the center of the field on a post route, basically all by his lonesome.
    — Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2025
  • After a train derailment involving a truck containing liquid propane, 51 is forced to fight the fire all by its lonesome — and with a low water supply, no less.
    — Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Manual would take the lead on the first play of the next drive, by way of a devious trick play that left wide receiver Curtis Reardon all by himself his lonesome.
    — J.l. Kirven, The Courier-Journal, 21 Aug. 2021
  • Johnson also focused on bringing out Monroe’s vocals, which were much lower and subtler than her traditional high-lonesome whine.
    — Jonathan Bernstein, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 2021
  • The elephant remained outside, all by its lonesome, until 1989, when it was joined by another of Sandoval’s elephants.
    — Deborah Martin, ExpressNews.com, 25 Jan. 2021
  • Noticing Mahomes was still holding it, Kelce leaked into the flat uncovered and took a short pass 38 yards all by his lonesome inside the 10.
    — Sam McDowell October 27, Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2025
  • But the real killer might be Fresno State wedged between the journey to the high lonesome and the season finale at Nevada — three games in six days in three different states and two at elevation.
    — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Feb. 2022
  • Moose junior Nathan Wheeler stood by his lonesome and converted on Matias Broughton’s centering pass from behind the net 26 seconds later.
    — Matt Nevala, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Feb. 2021
  • An Office of No would be one lonesome offset in a realm wherein agencies’ calculation of net benefits is a philosophical impossibility because the very existence of the agency is itself a net cost.
    — Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 25 Oct. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lonesome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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