insular

[ in-suh-ler, ins-yuh- ]

adjective

1. narrow-minded or illiberal; provincial:

   insular attitudes toward foreigners.

2. standing alone; detached; isolated:

   an insular building.

3. of or relating to an island or islands:

   a nation's insular possessions.

4. dwelling or situated on an island.
5. forming an island:

   insular rocks.

6. of, relating to, or characteristic of islanders or isolated people:

   insular tribes;

   insular sects.

7. Pathology. occurring in or characterized by one or more isolated spots, patches, or the like.
8. Anatomy. pertaining to an island of cells or tissue, as the islets of Langerhans.

noun

1. an inhabitant of an island; islander.

insular

/ ˌɪnsjʊˈlærɪtɪ; ˈɪnsjʊlə /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling an island
2. remote, detached, or aloof
3. illiberal or narrow-minded
4. isolated or separated

Derived Forms

• ˈinsularly, adverb
• ˈinsularism, noun

Other Words From

• in·su·lar·ism noun
• in·su·lar·i·ty [in-s, uh, --, lar, -i-tee, ins, -y, uh, -] noun
• in·su·lar·ly adverb
• in·ter·in·su·lar adjective
• trans·in·su·lar adjective
• un·in·su·lar adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of insular¹

From the Late Latin word insulāris, dating back to 1605–15. See insula, -ar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of insular¹

C17: from Late Latin insulāris, from Latin insula island, isle

Example Sentences

Even if the judiciary’s leaders say they can police themselves, Minor said in the brief, the insular culture of the judiciary prohibits that.

From Washington Post

Stories set in the Ivory Tower are often understood to be insular and low-stakes, with little to offer anyone who doesn’t possess a postgraduate degree.

From Time

They were a closed insular class but they were nonetheless connected to the world around them.

From Time

Yet the insular worlds of think-tanks and academia have the potential to be echo chambers, as does the human rights community that includes HRW.

From Time

The insular industry has a long way to go toward spreading the wealth, from expanding POC presence in product development and cultivation to expanding education around how to acquire medical cannabis licenses.

From Ozy

The Pritzker transforms architects from being merely good practitioners in a fairly insular field into global celebrities.

From The Daily Beast

But the sad reality is that the comics industry is too insular to foster any kind of radical change.

From The Daily Beast

All this observation and self-observation possibly says something very depressing about how insular and self-obsessing we are.

From The Daily Beast

Doing so, he highlighted the degree to which creationism is a decidedly incurious, insular worldview.

From The Daily Beast

The Executive is elected in broad national elections in which discrete and insular minorities carry less weight.

From The Daily Beast

From this point of view, the superiority of the continental over the insular colonies was not to be doubted.

From Project Gutenberg

Horses and dresses are found in the insular forms, but, so far, I have not found a single instance of the tournament.

From Project Gutenberg

The true causes of the depression were not within the control of the Insular Government or of any ruling factor.

From Project Gutenberg

Of the taxes accruing to the Insular Treasury under the above law, 10 per cent.

From Project Gutenberg

The insular failing is elsewhere frequently displayed by the poet in the trying light cast from a misanthrope genius.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• circumscribed
• isolated
• parochial
• petty