quirkyalone

English

Etymology

From quirky +‎ alone, coined by American writer Sasha Cagen in 2000 in a magazine article in Utne Reader.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkwɜki.ələʊn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkwɝki.əloʊn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

quirkyalone (plural quirkyalones)

1. Someone who enjoys being single (but is not opposed to being in a relationship) and generally prefers to be alone rather than dating for the sake of being in a couple.
   • 2003, Amelia Borofsky, Jennifer Karlin, editors, ReGeneration: Telling Stories from Our Twenties, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, →ISBN, page 220:

     Rilke is right. Being quirkyalone can be difficult. Everyone else is part of a couple!

   • 2007, Kate Crawford, Adult Themes: Rewriting the Rules of Adulthood, page 103:

     Cagen wrote a short essay about her experience as a “quirkyalone”, and before she knew it, the term was taken up as a badge of pride by thousands.

   • 2012, Elizabeth Brake, Minimizing Marriage: Marriage, Morality, and the Law, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:

     Other groups emphasize the importance of adult care networks rather than critiquing marriage. Quirkyalones and urban tribalists hold ideals of sociability that reach beyond an isolated dyad.

   • 2013, Annie Harrison, Finding Mr Right: The Real Women's Guide to Landing that Man:

     The quirkyalone has come to appreciate singledom as a natural state and a way to live a fulfilling life.

Synonyms

• single