alone

alone [ə lōn′]

adj., adv.

[ME < al, ALL + one, ONE]

1. apart from anything or anyone else [the hut stood alone on the prairie]

2. without involving any other person [to walk alone]

3. without anything further; with nothing more; only [the carton alone weighs two pounds]

4. without equal or peer [to stand alone as an example of courage]: As an adjective, alone generally follows the word it modifies

——————

let alone

1. to refrain from bothering or interfering with: also leave alone

2. not to speak of [we hadn't a dime, let alone a dollar] let ( or leave) well enough alone

——————

let well enough alone or leave well enough alone

to be content with things as they are and not try to improve them

SYN.- ALONE, unqualified, denotes the simple fact of being by oneself or itself; SOLITARY conveys the same sense but suggests more strongly the lack of companionship or association [a solitary tree in the meadow ]; LONELY, and the more poetic LONE, convey a heightened sense of solitude and gloom [the lonely sentinel walks his post ]; LONESOME suggests a longing or yearning for companionship, often for a particular person [the child is lonesome for her mother ] -ANT. ACCOMPANIED