insulate
Americanverb (used with object)
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insulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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insulated,
past participle, past
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insulating
present participle
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to cover, line, or separate with a material that prevents or reduces the passage, transfer, or leakage of heat, electricity, or sound.
to insulate an electric wire with a rubber sheath; to insulate a coat with down.
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to place in an isolated situation or condition; segregate.
verb
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to prevent or reduce the transmission of electricity, heat, or sound to or from (a body, device, or region) by surrounding with a nonconducting material
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to isolate or detach
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preinsulateverb (used with object)
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reinsulateverb (used with object)
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noninsulatingadjective
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superinsulatedadjective
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uninsulatedadjective
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well-insulatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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insulatesimple
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insulatessimple
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have insulatedperfect
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has insulatedperfect
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am insulatingprogressive
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are insulatingprogressive
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is insulatingprogressive
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have been insulatingperfect progressive
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has been insulatingperfect progressive
Past
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insulatedsimple
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had insulatedperfect
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was insulatingprogressive
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were insulatingprogressive
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had been insulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of insulate
First recorded in 1530–40, insulate is from the Latin word insulātus made into an island. See insula, -ate 1
Explanation
The verb insulate means "protect from heat, cold, or noise," like when you add an extra layer of clothing to insulate yourself from the cold. You can insulate a wall to keep sound out, or insulate your house to keep cold air from getting inside. So, to insulate is to protect against unwanted changes. Sometimes this can mean keeping out the influence or beliefs of other people, like a parent who tries to insulate his children from people who have different cultures or beliefs. You can see this meaning in the origin of insulate: the Latin word insula, meaning “to make into an island.”
Vocabulary lists containing insulate
Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Introductory
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This Week in Words: February 12 - 16, 2018
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Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Then there’s its unique geography, which has often helped insulate it from security risks and external threats.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
The electrification target unveiled in Bonn was "a flagship initiative" of COP31 that could respond to this crisis and help insulate economies from fossil fuel price shocks, the Turkish conference organisers said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
The Liberal Democrats also want families on low incomes to be able to insulate their home and install heat pumps for free.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
But even stable banking systems cannot insulate economies from ships sinking, harvests failing or strikes closing mines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
One time when a neighbor’s TV set broke, Dad opened the back and used a macaroni noodle to insulate some crossed wires.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
She’s looking into options like a cover that insulates the water, hybrid heaters and new electric heating models.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
America’s status as an energy exporter, thanks to ample supplies of shale gas and oil, insulates the U.S. from energy-price shocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
The historical record here may show that being a lame duck insulates a Fed chair from political pressures.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
"Investors and global central banks have... favoured gold as their reserve currency of choice, which they believe insulates them from US policy dependence," says Wall.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
They bought a parka made of reindeer skin, because reindeer hair is hollow and insulates well; and the hood was lined with wolverine fur, because that sheds the ice that forms when you breathe.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
I would imagine she knows that no single outcome is guaranteed and there is no way to live a life totally insulated from regret or misstep.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
Tyson executives said earlier this month that the company is more insulated than its competitors from depressed prices, after years spent improving its chicken operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
“In addition, the physical nature of these experiences should be insulated from AI disruption relative to other services offerings.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Now, at 80-years-old in his second term, he remains largely insulated from sustained scrutiny about his health.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
Brinker, in his accelerating change from absolute to relative virtue, came up with plan after plan, each more insulated from the fighting than the last.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
As transistors shrink, making this insulating layer thinner can improve electrical control.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
These entities are typically aimed at insulating the parent company from the risks and liabilities of a speculative investment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The same research found, external that women also have a higher core body temperature and body fat percentage than men, which acts like an extra insulating layer.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Cook “are almost comically irreconcilable as a matter of logic,” argues Mark in a piece that explains how the justices simultaneously expanded executive power while insulating the one agency it appears to truly value.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Nor did the English regard the Dawnland wetu as primitive; its multiple layers of mats, which trapped insulating layers of air, were “warmer than our English houses,” sighed the colonist William Wood.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
