Single vs. Singular — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 3, 2023
Single refers to one only, while singular means unique or exceptional.
Difference Between Single and Singular
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Single is used to denote one thing or person, without addition or exception, such as a single ticket or being single in terms of relationship status. Singular, on the other hand, refers to something that is extraordinary, unique, or exceptional in some way, like a singular talent or event. Both words imply one, but singular carries an additional connotation of rarity or uniqueness.
While single can describe quantity or marital status, singular is more about the quality or distinctiveness of something. A single occurrence simply happens once, but a singular occurrence is notable for being remarkable or unusual. Single is a straightforward description, whereas singular often conveys a sense of admiration or surprise.
In usage, single can refer to individual items when counting or purchasing, like single sheets of paper, and also to an individual's relationship status. Singular describes something that stands out from the ordinary, suggesting that there's something notable that sets it apart, like a singular achievement in one's career.
Single can also mean undivided, indicating something is meant for one person or purpose, such as a single-serving container. Singular, however, leans towards the meaning of being the only one of its kind, emphasizing exclusivity, such as a singular specimen in a scientific collection.
In essence, single emphasizes oneness without the presence of others, while singular emphasizes the extraordinary nature or uniqueness of the one.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Alone; one only
Unique; exceptional
Connotation
Quantity or marital status
Uniqueness or rarity
Usage
Describing individual units or relationship status
Describing noteworthy uniqueness
Example in Counting
"A single item was left."
N/A (Singular is not used for counting)
Example in Quality
N/A (Single is not typically about quality)
"A singular moment in history."
Compare with Definitions
Single
One in number; not multiple or combined.
Please hand me a single sheet of paper.
Singular
Being the only one of its kind; unique.
The gallery displayed a singular piece of art.
Single
Unaccompanied by others; individual.
He prefers single cabins when he cruises.
Singular
Being only one; individual; lone
A singular tree in the meadow.
Single
Only one; not one of several
The kingdom was ruled over by a single family
A single red rose
Singular
Being the only one of a kind; unique
"Our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared" (Barack Obama).
Single
Unmarried or not involved in a stable sexual relationship
A single mother
Singular
Being beyond what is ordinary, especially in being exceptionally good; remarkable
"Dinners with [our two friends] became the evenings we looked forward to with singular pleasure" (David Halberstam).
Single
Consisting of one part
The studio was a single large room
Singular
Strange or unusual
"I accordingly obeyed forthwith what I still considered a very singular summons" (Edgar Allan Poe).
Single
Free from duplicity or deceit; ingenuous
A pure and single heart
Singular
Of, relating to, or being a noun, pronoun, or adjective denoting a single person or thing or several entities considered as a single unit.
Single
An individual person or thing rather than part of a pair or a group.
Singular
Of, relating to, or being a verb expressing the action or state of a single subject.
Single
A hit for one run.
Singular
(Logic) Of or relating to the specific as distinguished from the general; individual.
Single
(especially in tennis and badminton) a game or competition for individual players, not pairs or teams.
Singular
The singular number or a form designating it.
Single
A system of change-ringing in which one pair of bells changes places at each round.
Singular
A word having a singular number.
Single
Choose someone or something from a group for special treatment
One newspaper was singled out for criticism
Singular
Being only one of a larger population.
A singular experiment cannot be regarded as scientific proof of the existence of a phenomenon.
Single
Thin out (seedlings or saplings)
Hand hoes are used for singling roots
Singular
Being the only one of the kind; unique.
She has a singular personality.
Single
Reduce (a railway track) to a single line
The South Western line was singled west of Salisbury
Singular
Distinguished by superiority: peerless, unmatched, eminent, exceptional, extraordinary.
A man of singular gravity or attainments
Single
Hit a single
Cohen singled to centre
Singular
Out of the ordinary; curious.
It was very singular; I don't know why he did it.
Single
Not accompanied by another or others; solitary.
Singular
(grammar) Referring to only one thing or person.
Single
Consisting of one part, aspect, or section
A single thickness.
A single serving.
Singular
Having no inverse.
Single
Having the same application for all; uniform
A single moral code for all.
Singular
Having the property that the matrix of coefficients of the new variables has a determinant equal to zero.
Single
Consisting of one in number
She had but a single thought, which was to escape.
Singular
Not equal to its own cofinality.
Single
Not divided; unbroken
A single slab of ice.
Singular
(law) Each; individual.
To convey several parcels of land, all and singular
Single
Separate from others; individual and distinct
Every single child will receive a gift.
Singular
(obsolete) Engaged in by only one on a side; single.
Single
Having individual opponents; involving two individuals only
Single combat.
Singular
(grammar) A form of a word that refers to only one person or thing.
Single
Honest; undisguised
A single adoration.
Singular
(logic) That which is not general; a specific determinate instance.
Single
Wholly attentive
You must judge the contest with a single eye.
Singular
Separate or apart from others; single; distinct.
And God forbid that all a companyShould rue a singular man's folly.
Single
Designed to accommodate one person or thing
A single bed.
Singular
Engaged in by only one on a side; single.
To try the matter thus together in a singular combat.
Single
Not married or involved in a romantic relationship
Once he knew she was single, he asked her to go out.
Singular
Existing by itself; single; individual.
The idea which represents one . . . determinate thing, is called a singular idea, whether simple, complex, or compound.
Single
Relating to a state of being unmarried or uninvolved in a romantic relationship
Enjoys the single life.
Singular
Each; individual; as, to convey several parcels of land, all and singular.
Single
(Botany) Having only one rank or row of petals
A single flower.
Singular
Denoting one person or thing; as, the singular number; - opposed to dual and plural.
Single
One that is separate and individual.
Singular
Standing by itself; out of the ordinary course; unusual; uncommon; strange; as, a singular phenomenon.
So singular a sadnessMust have a cause as strange as the effect.
Single
Something capable of carrying, moving, or holding one person or thing at a time, as a bed or a hotel room.
Singular
Distinguished as existing in a very high degree; rarely equaled; eminent; extraordinary; exceptional; as, a man of singular gravity or attainments.
Single
A person who is not married or involved in a romantic relationship.
Singular
Departing from general usage or expectations; odd; whimsical; - often implying disapproval or censure.
His zealNone seconded, as out of season judged,Or singular and rash.
To be singular in anything that is wise and worthy, is not a disparagement, but a praise.
Single
Singles Such persons considered as a group
A bar for singles.
Singular
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.
Single
A one-dollar bill.
Singular
An individual instance; a particular.
Single
A phonograph record, especially a forty-five, having one song on each side.
Singular
The singular number, or the number denoting one person or thing; a word in the singular number.
Single
A song on one of these sides.
Singular
The form of a word that is used to denote a singleton
Single
A song, often from a full-length album or compact disc, that is released for airplay.
Singular
Unusual or striking;
A remarkable sight
Such poise is singular in one so young
Single
(Baseball) A hit enabling the batter to reach first base. Also called one-bagger, one-base hit.
Singular
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
Single
A hit for one run in cricket.
Singular
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
Single
A golf match between two players.
Singular
Grammatical number category referring to a single item or unit
Single
Often singles A tennis or badminton match between two players.
Singular
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
Single
Singles A competition in which individuals compete against each other, as in rowing or figure skating.
Singular
Exceptionally good or great; remarkable.
The scientist made a singular discovery.
Single
To cause (a base runner) to score or advance by hitting a single
Singled him to second.
Singular
Odd or strange in a striking way.
Her style is quite singular in our small town.
Single
To cause the scoring of (a run) by hitting a single.
Singular
Denoting something that is out of the ordinary.
The play received singular praise from the critics.
Single
To hit a single.
Singular
Grammar term referring to a single unit or non-plural form.
The singular form of 'mice' is 'mouse.'
Single
Not accompanied by anything else; one in number.
Can you give me a single reason not to leave right now?
The vase contained a single long-stemmed rose.
Single
Not divided in parts.
The potatoes left the spoon and landed in a single big lump on the plate.
Single
Designed for the use of only one.
A single room
Single
Performed by one person, or one on each side.
A single combat
Single
Not married, and (in modern times) not dating or without a significant other.
Forms often ask if a person is single, married, divorced, or widowed. In this context, a person who is dating someone but who has never married puts "single".
Josh put down that he was a single male on the dating website.
Single
(botany) Having only one rank or row of petals.
Single
(obsolete) Simple and honest; sincere, without deceit.
Single
Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
Single
(obsolete) Simple; foolish; weak; silly.
Single
(music) A 45 RPM vinyl record with one song on side A and one on side B.
Single
(music) A popular song released and sold (on any format) nominally on its own though usually having at least one extra track.
The Offspring released four singles from their most recent album.
Single
One who is not married or does not have a romantic partner.
He went to the party, hoping to meet some friendly singles there.
Single
(cricket) A score of one run.
Single
(baseball) A hit in baseball where the batter advances to first base.
Single
(dominoes) A tile that has a different value (i.e. number of pips) at each end.
Single
A bill valued at $1.
I don't have any singles, so you'll have to make change.
Single
(UK) A one-way ticket.
Single
(Canadian football) A score of one point, awarded when a kicked ball is dead within the non-kicking team's end zone or has exited that end zone.
Single
A game with one player on each side, as in tennis.
Single
One of the reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
Single
A handful of gleaned grain.
Single
A floating-point number having half the precision of a double-precision value.
Single
(film) A shot of only one character.
Single
A single cigarette.
Single
Synonym of single-driver.
Single
To identify or select one member of a group from the others; generally used with out, either to single out or to single (something) out.
Eddie singled out his favorite marble from the bag.
Yvonne always wondered why Ernest had singled her out of the group of giggling girls she hung around with.
Single
(baseball) To get a hit that advances the batter exactly one base.
Pedro singled in the bottom of the eighth inning, which, if converted to a run, would put the team back into contention.
Single
(agriculture) To thin out.
Single
(of a horse) To take the irregular gait called singlefoot.
Single
To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
Single
To take alone, or one by one; to single out.
Single
(transitive) To reduce (a railway) to single track.
Single
One only, as distinguished from more than one; consisting of one alone; individual; separate; as, a single star.
No single man is born with a right of controlling the opinions of all the rest.
Single
Alone; having no companion.
Who single hast maintained,Against revolted multitudes, the causeOf truth.
Single
Hence, unmarried; as, a single man or woman.
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
Single chose to live, and shunned to wed.
Single
Not doubled, twisted together, or combined with others; as, a single thread; a single strand of a rope.
Single
Performed by one person, or one on each side; as, a single combat.
These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . . Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
Single
Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.
Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to compound.
Single
Not deceitful or artful; honest; sincere.
I speak it with a single heart.
Single
Simple; not wise; weak; silly.
He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.
Single
To select, as an individual person or thing, from among a number; to choose out from others; to separate.
Dogs who hereby can single out their master in the dark.
His blood! she faintly screamed her mindStill singling one from all mankind.
Single
To sequester; to withdraw; to retire.
An agent singling itself from consorts.
Single
To take alone, or one by one.
Men . . . commendable when they are singled.
Single
To take the irrregular gait called single-foot; - said of a horse. See Single-foot.
Many very fleet horses, when overdriven, adopt a disagreeable gait, which seems to be a cross between a pace and a trot, in which the two legs of one side are raised almost but not quite, simultaneously. Such horses are said to single, or to be single-footed.
Single
A unit; one; as, to score a single.
Single
The reeled filaments of silk, twisted without doubling to give them firmness.
Single
A handful of gleaned grain.
Single
A game with but one player on each side; - usually in the plural.
Single
A hit by a batter which enables him to reach first base only.
Single
A base hit on which the batter stops safely at first base
Single
The smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number;
He has the one but will need a two and three to go with it
They had lunch at one
Single
Hit a one-base hit
Single
Existing alone or consisting of one entity or part or aspect or individual;
Upon the hill stood a single tower
Had but a single thought which was to escape
A single survivor
A single serving
A single lens
A single thickness
Single
Used of flowers having usually only one row or whorl of petals;
Single chrysanthemums resemble daisies and may have more than one row of petals
Single
Not married or related to the unmarried state;
Unmarried men and women
Unmarried life
Sex and the single girl
Single parenthood
Are you married or single?
Single
Characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing;
An individual serving
Separate rooms
Single occupancy
A single bed
Single
Having uniform application;
A single legal code for all
Single
Not divided among or brought to bear on more than one object or objective;
Judging a contest with a single eye
A single devotion to duty
Undivided affection
Gained their exclusive attention
Single
Involved two individuals;
Single combat
Single
Individual and distinct;
Pegged down each separate branch to the earth
A gift for every single child
Single
Alone or solitary in context.
She went on a single ticket to Europe.
Single
Unmarried or not involved in a romantic relationship.
He's been single for a few years now.
Single
Designed for one person's use.
She bought a single-serving yogurt for lunch.
Common Curiosities
Can single and singular be used interchangeably?
No, single refers to one alone, while singular means exceptional or unique.
Is singular always a compliment?
Often, but it can also imply oddness or peculiarity.
Can a product be sold as single and be singular?
Yes, if it's sold individually and has unique qualities.
Can a person be described as singular?
Yes, if they have exceptional qualities.
Is single used in grammar?
Yes, to refer to a single unit or form, as opposed to plural.
Can singular indicate strangeness?
Yes, it can describe something as being odd or unusual.
Does singular have a grammatical meaning?
Yes, it refers to the singular form of a noun.
Does single only refer to relationship status?
No, it can also mean one in number or designed for one person.
Can an event be both single and singular?
Yes, if it occurs once and is extraordinary.
Is single a quantitative term?
Yes, it denotes one in number.
Is singular a judgmental term?
It can be, depending on whether the uniqueness is seen positively or negatively.
Does singular refer to something that's never happened before?
Not necessarily, but it implies it's rare or exceptional.
Is single a neutral term?
Generally, yes, as it simply denotes one.
Can single be used in legal documents?
Yes, to specify an individual entity or person.
Do single and singular share the same root?
Yes, both come from Latin meaning 'one'.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
