the form of a word that is used to denote a singleton
<noun.communication> [ adj ]
composed of one member, set, or kind
<adj.all>
grammatical number category referring to a single item or unit
<adj.all>
unusual or striking
<adj.all> a remarkable sight such poise is singular in one so young
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
<adj.all> 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
being a single and separate person or thing
<adj.all> 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
the single one of its kind
<adj.all> 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
Singular \Sin"gu*lar\ (s[i^][ng]"g[-u]*l[~e]r), a. [OE. singuler, F. singulier, fr. L. singularius, singularis, fr. singulus single. See {Single}, a.] 1. Separate or apart from others; single; distinct. [Obs.] --Bacon.
And God forbid that all a company Should rue a singular man's folly. --Chaucer.
2. Engaged in by only one on a side; single. [Obs.]
To try the matter thus together in a singular combat. --Holinshed.
3. (Logic) Existing by itself; single; individual.
The idea which represents one . . . determinate thing, is called a singular idea, whether simple, complex, or compound. --I. Watts.
4. (Law) Each; individual; as, to convey several parcels of land, all and singular.
5. (Gram.) Denoting one person or thing; as, the singular number; -- opposed to {dual} and {plural}.
6. Standing by itself; out of the ordinary course; unusual; uncommon; strange; as, a singular phenomenon.
So singular a sadness Must have a cause as strange as the effect. --Denham.
7. Distinguished as existing in a very high degree; rarely equaled; eminent; extraordinary; exceptional; as, a man of singular gravity or attainments.
8. Departing from general usage or expectations; odd; whimsical; -- often implying disapproval or censure.
His zeal None seconded, as out of season judged, Or singular and rash. --Milton.
To be singular in anything that is wise and worthy, is not a disparagement, but a praise. --Tillotson.
9. Being alone; belonging to, or being, that of which there is but one; unique.
These busts of the emperors and empresses are all very scarce, and some of them almost singular in their kind. --Addison.
{Singular point in a curve} (Math.), a point at which the curve possesses some peculiar properties not possessed by other points of the curve, as a cusp point, or a multiple point.
{Singular proposition} (Logic), a proposition having as its subject a singular term, or a common term limited to an individual by means of a singular sign. --Whately.
{Singular succession} (Civil Law), division among individual successors, as distinguished from universal succession, by which an estate descended in intestacy to the heirs in mass.
{Singular term} (Logic), a term which represents or stands for a single individual.
Singular \Sin"gu*lar\, n. 1. An individual instance; a particular. [Obs.] --Dr. H. More.
2. (Gram) The singular number, or the number denoting one person or thing; a word in the singular number.
To have launched The American Spectator in 1967, during the campus frolics that initiated the decline of the postwar system of authority, required, in a man of 23, a singular resistance to common decency.
The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, newish clubs which had heretofore been distinguished only by their singular nicknames and losing records, are off and running near the top of the NBA's Atlantic Division.
But there are some singular voices of support.
Not even 30 years of age, Jack had a singular opportunity for a man obviously being groomed for the highest office. To some extent, Jack Kennedy made his own luck.
Vanguard Group, a singular early success in the field with its Index Trust-500 Portfolio, is extending the idea to a series of new fund offerings.
She said the company already has received inquiries about another singular item _ Napoleon's spectacles.
But defence is a singular business and there are other managers further down the line used to the bad old ways.
On its own again for the first time since the inter-war years it is again showing a singular lack of political vision and will.
The presidential nomination of a political party represents more than the singular and personal triumph of one leader's voice amidst the chorus of philosophy and alliances and loyalties.
Other students agonize loudly over a list of singular and plural nouns.
Reflected in this episode are the vast changes in the market for hardcover books over the past decade, but the principal factor is the singular phenomenon of Mr. King's popularity.
By the 1960s, by then long isolated from the immediate engagement with Cubism, Futurism and Dada that had once given his work at least a context and contemporaneity of sorts, he had become a singular hero to the post-war generation of the avant garde.
Claims are paid only after the commission has completed the case, and only if the intervenor has made a contribution deemed significant, singular and accepted as part of a formal rate decision.
It was a singular image of fanatic, brutal ferocity that would help to explain the depth of those "ancient hatreds" - or titillate a syndication audience nine years later.