insularity

[in-suh--lar-i-tee, ins-yuh-]

noun

1. the state or condition of being an island.

   Great Britain, because of its insularity, was only reachable by sea until 1785, when the first balloon successfully crossed the English Channel by air.

2. the state or condition of dwelling on or being situated on an island.

   None of the other aspects of the fossil show adaptations common among island dwellers, so insularity is not a good argument to explain its form.

3. the state or condition of being detached or isolated.

   Growing populations have in many places made the insularity of religious communities difficult to preserve.

4. the state or condition of being narrow-minded or provincial.

   Our neighbors' insularity was both psychological and cultural: they had no interest whatsoever in literature, history, art, government, science, film, or the outdoors.

Word History and Origins

Origin of insularity¹

insular ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

Beneath the supernatural grotesqueries, Mr. King reflects on the mundane horrors—insularity, seediness and dead ends—of American small-town life.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Then in February, an executive order from Trump tasked DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, with “eliminating waste, bloat and insularity” in federal agencies.

Read more on Salon

That head-down insularity began to change with the realization that issues such as taxes, tariffs, foreign trade and legal liability mattered a great deal to high-tech’s prosperity and long-term future.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Tucked away in semirural settings away from the urban core, both communities, despite their dramatic demographic differences, share an insularity that engendered strong identities and also made them vulnerable.

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"He captures Dylan's craning stance and the way he used hair and sunglasses as a mask, the insistent buzz and keen of his speaking and singing voice and the odd, touchy, insularity."

Read more on BBC