the.com/loner
Someone who prefers their own company and isn't waiting for permission to enjoy it.
means A person who chooses solitude over crowds, content alone rather than lonely.
from A 1940s American clipping of alone, which itself was once all one — completely, utterly, by yourself.
Not lonelySolitude is chosen; loneliness is inflicted.
Animal kingdomTigers and polar bears are textbook loners.
Word ageSurprisingly young — coined around 1940.