lonely desperado
- noun
- /ˈloʊnli ˌdɛspəˈrɑːdoʊ/
- Literature
:
desesperado solitario
- In the café, he looked like a lonely desperado, nursing his drink and watching the door.
Examples
-
The novel's protagonist is a lonely desperado wandering the open plains in search of meaning.
-
Critics called the film a classic tale of the lonely desperado who can never escape his past.
-
The lonely desperado wandered the empty streets at night.
-
Many lonely desperados seek solace in music.
-
In the café, he looked like a lonely desperado, nursing his drink and watching the door.
-
Critics called the film a classic tale of the lonely desperado who can never escape his past.
-
The novel's protagonist is a lonely desperado wandering the open plains in search of meaning.
Synonyms
79
4.2
A person who prefers to be alone and avoids spending time with others
35
6.1
A person who lives alone away from other people, often for religious reasons
23
3.9
A person who travels without a fixed home or purpose
22
7.8
A person who lives alone and avoids other people
19
5.0
A person who prefers to do things alone rather than with others
1
7.2
A person who lives alone and avoids the company of others
A person who lives alone and avoids meeting other people
Antonyms
How Solitary
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'lonely' simply modifies 'desperado' to indicate an outlaw who is solitary or emotionally distant. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift beyond the straightforward adjective+noun meaning, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's sense.
Etymology
The phrase lonely desperado comes from old cowboy stories where a desperado was an 'outlaw' and the word lonely gave a strong image of a single rider on a dusty road. That's why lonely desperado now describes a solitary person who looks for adventure or love but feels emotionally distant.