What does singular mean?

Definitions for singular
ˈsɪŋ gyə lərsin·gu·lar

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word singular.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. singular, singular formadjective

    the form of a word that is used to denote a singleton

  2. remarkable, singularadjective

    unusual or striking

    "a remarkable sight"; "such poise is singular in one so young"

  3. curious, funny, odd, peculiar, queer, rum, rummy, singularadjective

    beyond or deviating from the usual or expected

    "a curious hybrid accent"; "her speech has a funny twang"; "they have some funny ideas about war"; "had an odd name"; "the peculiar aromatic odor of cloves"; "something definitely queer about this town"; "what a rum fellow"; "singular behavior"

  4. singularadjective

    being a single and separate person or thing

    "can the singular person be understood apart from his culture?"; "every fact in the world might be singular...unlike any other fact and sole of its kind"-William James

  5. singularadjective

    composed of one member, set, or kind

  6. singularadjective

    grammatical number category referring to a single item or unit

  7. singular, uniqueadjective

    the single one of its kind

    "a singular example"; "the unique existing example of Donne's handwriting"; "a unique copy of an ancient manuscript"; "certain types of problems have unique solutions"

Wiktionary

  1. singularnoun

    A form of a word that refers to only one person or thing.

  2. singularadjective

    Being only one of a larger population.

    A singular experiment cannot be regarded as scientific proof of the existence of a phenomenon.

  3. singularadjective

    Being the only one of the kind; unique.

  4. singularadjective

    Distinguished by superiority, coming across as such.

  5. singularadjective

    Being out of the ordinary, coming across as such.

  6. singularadjective

    Referring to only one thing or person.

  7. singularadjective

    Having no inverse.

  8. singularadjective

    Having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SINGULARadjective

    Etymology: singulier, Fr. singularis, Latin.

    That idea which represents one particular determinate thing is called a singular idea, whether simple, complex, or compound. Isaac Watts.

    If St. Paul’s speaking of himself in the first person singular has so various meanings, his use of the first person plural has a greater latitude. John Locke.

    So singular a sadness
    Must have a cause as strange as the effect. John Denham, Sophy.

    Doubtless, if you are innocent, your case is extremely hard, yet it is not singular. Female Quixote.

    His zeal
    None seconded, as singular and rash. John Milton.

    It is very commendable to be singular in any excellency, and religion is the greatest excellency: to be singular in anything that is wise and worthy is not a disparagement, but a praise. John Tillotson.

    These busts of the emperors and empresses are all very scarce, and some of them almost singular in their kind. Addis.

ChatGPT

  1. singular

    Singular refers to the state or quality of being individual, unique, or separate. In grammar, it refers to a form of a word that denotes one person, thing, or instance (as opposed to plural). It also relates to something unusual or exceptional.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Singularadjective

    separate or apart from others; single; distinct

  2. Singularadjective

    engaged in by only one on a side; single

  3. Singularadjective

    existing by itself; single; individual

  4. Singularadjective

    each; individual; as, to convey several parcels of land, all and singular

  5. Singularadjective

    denoting one person or thing; as, the singular number; -- opposed to dual and plural

  6. Singularadjective

    standing by itself; out of the ordinary course; unusual; uncommon; strange; as, a singular phenomenon

  7. Singularadjective

    distinguished as existing in a very high degree; rarely equaled; eminent; extraordinary; exceptional; as, a man of singular gravity or attainments

  8. Singularadjective

    departing from general usage or expectations; odd; whimsical; -- often implying disapproval or consure

  9. Singularadjective

    being alone; belonging to, or being, that of which there is but one; unique

  10. Singularnoun

    an individual instance; a particular

  11. Singularnoun

    the singular number, or the number denoting one person or thing; a word in the singular number

Wikidata

  1. Singular

    Singular is a computer algebra system for polynomial computations with special emphasis on the needs of commutative and non-commutative algebra, algebraic geometry, and singularity theory. Singular is free software released under the GNU General Public License. Problems in non-commutative algebra can be tackled with the Singular offspring Plural. Singular is developed under the direction of Wolfram Decker, Gert-Martin Greuel, Gerhard Pfister, and Hans Schönemann, who head Singular's core development team within the Department of Mathematics of the University of Kaiserslautern. In the DFG Priority Program 1489, interfaces to GAP, Polymake and Gfan are being developed in order to cover recently established areas of mathematics involving convex and algebraic geometry, such as toric and tropical geometry.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Singular

    sing′gū-lar, adj. alone: (gram.) denoting one person or thing: single: not complex or compound: standing alone, rare, unusual, uncommon: of more than common value or importance: unique, extraordinary, strange, odd: (B.) particular.—n. that which is singular: (logic) that which is not general, that which is here and now, that which is determinate in every respect.—n. Singularisā′tion.—v.t. Sing′ularise, to make singular.—ns. Sing′ularist, one who affects singularity; Singular′ity, the state of being singular: peculiarity: anything curious or remarkable: particular privilege or distinction: (math.) an exceptional element or character of a continuum.—adv. Sing′ularly, in a singular manner: peculiarly: strangely: so as to express one or the singular number. [Fr.,—L. singularis.]

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

Anagrams for singular »

  1. railguns

  2. rail guns

How to pronounce singular?

How to say singular in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of singular in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of singular in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of singular in a Sentence

  1. Caitlin Sutherland:

    Instead of giving parents a meaningful seat at the table, she once again prioritized teacher union bosses – giving them instant and unfettered access while parents were relegated to a singular 30-minute meeting.

  2. Mark Pandori:

    If reinfection is possible on such a short timeline, there may be implications for the efficacy of vaccines developed to fight the disease. It may also have implications for herd immunity, it is important to note that this is a singular finding. It does not provide any information to us with regard to the generalizability of this phenomenon.

  3. Eric Beeson:

    I appreciated the depiction of suicide as a process. There is no singular cause for suicide, and the show depicted the cumulative effect of multiple life experiences leading up to Hannah's suicide. Even though I don't like that the show sometimes vilified the people in the tapes as the 'reasons' why Hannah killed herself, one narrative that has been lost in the controversy about this show is the belief by some of the characters that things had to get better, they had to care and treat one another better.

  4. Scott Pinsker:

    All brands evolve over time, and the Donald Trump brand is no different. The good news for Ivanka is that Donald Trump is such a singular, distinct presence. Donald Trump’s almost a standalone product. With a few well-times, well-positioned interviews after Election Day, Ivanka can certainly reestablish her brand identity.

  5. May Sarton:

    May we agree that private life is irrelevant? Multiple, mixed, ambiguous at best -- out of it we try to fashion the crystal clear, the singular, the absolute, and that is what is relevant; that is what matters.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

singular#10000#13600#100000

Translations for singular

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • صيغة المفرد, مفردArabic
  • singular, únicCatalan, Valencian
  • senggolåtChamorro
  • jednotné čísloCzech
  • entalDanish
  • singulär, Einzahl, einzigartig, einzeln, ungewöhnlichGerman
  • ununombraEsperanto
  • singular, únicoSpanish
  • mittepööratav, ainsusEstonian
  • yksiköllinen, kummallinen, omituinen, merkillinen, erinomainen, uniikki, ainutlaatuinen, singulaarinen, harvinainen, tavaton, yksittäinen, yksikköFinnish
  • singulierFrench
  • ientalWestern Frisian
  • egyesHungarian
  • եզակի, եզակի թիվArmenian
  • eintala, et.Icelandic
  • singolareItalian
  • 風変わり, 単数形, 奇妙, 希有, 非凡, 単一, 無二, 単称, 単数の, 唯一Japanese
  • singularisLatin
  • ганц тооMongolian
  • enkeltNorwegian
  • enig, ongewoon, opmerkelijke, opmerkelijk, uitzonderlijk, enige, enkelvoudige, enkelvoudig, enkelvoudDutch
  • enkelt, einstaka, einskildNorwegian Nynorsk
  • łah jidiltʼéhígo, tʼááłáʼígoNavajo, Navaho
  • osobliwy, osobliwa, nieodwracalna, liczba pojedynczaPolish
  • único, simples, singularPortuguese
  • sapaQuechua
  • единственное число, единственныйRussian
  • необичан, osobit, jedini, једини, поједини, neobičan, pojedini, особит, jednina, једнинаSerbo-Croatian
  • jednotné číslo, singulárSlovak
  • njëjës, numri njëjësAlbanian
  • säregen, egendomlig, singular, unik, ensam, enstaka, besynnerlig, utmärkt, enastående, singularis, entalSwedish
  • ఏకవచనముTelugu
  • tekilTurkish
  • balnum, balnumikVolapük

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"singular." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/singular>.

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    a central point or locus of an infection in an organism
    A nidus
    B allogamy
    C sundog
    D tithe

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