singular

[ sing-gyuh-ler ]

adjective

1. extraordinary; remarkable; exceptional:

   a singular success.

   Synonyms: peculiar

   Antonyms: usual

2. unusual or strange; odd; different:

   singular behavior.

   Synonyms: curious, queer, bizarre, peculiar

3. being the only one of its kind; distinctive; unique:

   a singular example.

   Synonyms: rare, uncommon, peculiar

4. separate; individual.

   Synonyms: single, peculiar

5. Grammar. noting or pertaining to a member of the category of number found in many languages that indicates that a word form has one referent or denotes one person, place, thing, or instance, as English boy and thing, which are singular nouns, or goes, a singular form of the verb go. Compare dual ( def 4 ), plural ( def 4 ).
6. Logic.
   1. of or relating to something individual, specific, or not general.
   2. (of a proposition) containing no quantifiers, as “Socrates was mortal.”
7. Mathematics.
   1. of or relating to a linear transformation from a vector space to itself that is not one-to-one.
   2. of or relating to a matrix having a determinant equal to zero.
8. Obsolete. private.
9. Obsolete. single.

noun

, Grammar.

1. the singular number.
2. a form in the singular.

singular

/ ˈsɪŋɡjʊlə /

adjective

1. remarkable; exceptional; extraordinary

   a singular feat

2. unusual; odd

   a singular character

3. unique
4. denoting a word or an inflected form of a word indicating that not more than one referent is being referred to or described
5. logic of or referring to a specific thing or person as opposed to something general

noun

1. grammar
   1. the singular number
   2. a singular form of a word

singular

1. In nouns , pronouns , and verbs , the grammatical form that refers to only one thing. In the following sentence, the singular words are italicized: “The police officer stops anyone who crosses before the light changes .” ( Compare plural ; see agreement .)

Derived Forms

• ˈsingularness, noun
• ˈsingularly, adverb

Other Words From

• singu·lar·ly adverb
• singu·lar·ness noun
• super·singu·lar adjective
• un·singu·lar adjective
• un·singu·lar·ly adverb
• un·singu·lar·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of singular¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word singulāris. See single, -ar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of singular¹

C14: from Latin singulāris single

Example Sentences

Humans reinvented a way to directly capture energy from the sun—previously the singular achievement of photosynthetic organisms.

From Nautilus

One crucial aspect from this point of view is having personal account managers and being able to continually check the status of your campaign with a singular point of contact.

From Search Engine Land

What struck me immediately was his willingness to invent a new, singular model, freeing himself from the usual constraints of the fashion system.

From Essence.com

The problem is that political parties are not singular entities capable of easily changing course.

From FiveThirtyEight

Maggie Curran says Belkin International’s approach is to view each component of a brand’s Amazon presence as part of the total, singular story the brand tells via Amazon, not just a driver of one-off sales.

From Digiday

From this attitude he draws a singular comic and literary power.

From The Daily Beast

Her single and singular goal in every case is to pursue justice as determined by the law.

From The Daily Beast

The singular author Don Carpenter took his own life in 1995.

From The Daily Beast

The entire city can seem like a singular monument to his decades in office.

From The Daily Beast

Eastwood is a singular screen presence, and he can be electrifying in the right role.

From The Daily Beast

She gave details of the singular mood that had come upon her with the arrival of Tony, but Tom hardly heard her.

From Project Gutenberg

It does not appear, however, that any special significance is attached to this singular fancy.

From Project Gutenberg

The nuts are cut into thin slices and wrapped in the leaves of a singular plant called buyo.

From Project Gutenberg

He turned, and rose: a tall, slight gentleman, with a singular countenance that startled her.

From Project Gutenberg

The fate of the royal family after this defeat was extremely singular and distressing.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bizarre
• exceptional
• extraordinary
• peculiar
• rare
• remarkable
• strange
• uncommon
• unimaginable
• unparalleled
• unprecedented
• unusual