What's the difference between Solitude and Loneliness?

I can say that there is an ocean of a difference between solitude and loneliness

Solitude is your own conscious choice to be alone,irrespective of whether you have a galaxy of friends or not.When you're in solitude, you dont crave or think about others

Every human being needs solitude, the time which he can spend for himself/herself, the time when he feels he is at peace

Loneliness is something that you have no choice, you're alone because you dont have others to be with you

Shy people for example are often victims of loneliness.On the other hand there are people whose interest in something make them get withdrawn from the social life ,for example scientists, artists.Ofcourse many who are lonely end up seeking solitude

Loneliness is a state of the mind, you can be with thousand people yet feel,so secluded,isolated and different from the rest

Loneliness affects your mind, solitude doesnt

Loneliness Synonym

My views on solitude has changed since I became older. No longer do I feel solitude is a reflection on the person, merely a choice .

What Is Solitude

solitude is something you choose because you enjoy being on your own, doing things that involve just you. It has a positive meaning.

loneliness is a feeling that emerges in the absence of others, frequently referred to as an emotional void, or "emptiness". It has a negative meaning.

solitude is were you strive alone loneliness is where you long for people to recognize you as an equal or even notice you

For someone who is lost, solitude and loneliness sound somewhat similar. I don't really know much about this philosophical stuff but I know one thing for sure that when you are sad...you see everything as the synonym of loneliness.

It's like when you have mood swings, you try to lift yourself up for a while but then all the negative thoughts grab you and you feel like being alone. In this case it's hard to tell if a person really wants to be alone or his circumstances are forcing him to be alone.

There isn't any difference between solitude and loneliness for a person who has lost his smile.

being alone means keeping a barrier between you and your friends, if you are happy and satisfied with that barrier then its called solitude, if you are sad then its loneliness.

to be lonely is a negative feeling. to be solitude is to set oneself alone. it can be lonely or happy (as in a feeling of freedom)

Although the words may be semantically close, I'd argue there are some differences between them.

To me, solitude is always a physical feeling and is reached voluntarily. Simply put, you're in solitude when you want to be left alone. The physical aspect is that you are by yourself and the desire aspect lies in the fact that you requested specifically to be left alone.

Loneliness, in contrast, is more a mental feeling and is reached involuntarily. In other words, you're lonely against your will. You'd like to have people around you to share experiences with but you can't find them; that's the unfulfilled desire part. The mental feeling comes from the fact that you may be surrounded by a lot of people but still feel lonely because, say, you may not be understood. Think a bit about celebrities who commit suicide despite all the riches surrounding them.

......Solitude is your spirits way of seeking out time for creativity, in may forms; thought, writing, the arts, etc. I seek solitude many times for the purpose of finding clarity in my life as well as pursing my creativity.

But, never have I found myself to seek loneliness, nor have I know any others to seek it out.

Loneliness (to me) is an ache to be comforted by the company of a loved one / ones, or just others that we can relate to.

Loneliness is sad and painful, whereas solitude gives a sense of peacefulness and contentment.