isolate
to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.
Medicine/Medical. to keep (an infected person) from contact with noninfected persons; quarantine.
Chemistry, Bacteriology. to obtain (a substance or microorganism) in an uncombined or pure state.
Electricity. to insulate.
Television. to single out (a person, action, etc.) for a camera closeup.
a person, thing, or group that is set apart or isolated, as for purposes of study.
Psychology. a person, often shy or lacking in social skills, who avoids the company of others and has no friends within a group.
Biology. an inbreeding population that is isolated from similar populations by physiological, behavioral, or geographic barriers.
Also called language isolate. Linguistics. a language with no demonstrable genetic relationship, as Basque.
something that has been isolated, as a by-product in a manufacturing process: an isolate of soy flour.
isolated; alone.
Origin of isolate
1Other words from isolate
- i·so·la·tor, noun
- re·i·so·late, verb (used with object), re·i·so·lat·ed, re·i·so·lat·ing.
- un·i·so·late, verb (used with object), un·i·so·lat·ed, un·i·so·lat·ing.
Words Nearby isolate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use isolate in a sentence
Existing abusive relationships have worsened, and digital abuse has seen an uptick as people have grown increasingly isolated and spent more time online.
Deepfake porn is ruining women’s lives. Now the law may finally ban it | Karen Hao | February 12, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewMeunier is typically considered the junior partner in the Champagne triumvirate alongside chardonnay and pinot noir, and when you isolate it as Prévost does, the results are totally distinct.
If players contract the virus the week before the NCAA tournament, there presumably wouldn’t be enough time for them to isolate, recover and return to play.
Big Ten moves men’s basketball tournament to Indianapolis | Emily Giambalvo | February 9, 2021 | Washington PostAs to what the study could lead to in terms of actual interventions, the study’s authors note that it can help anticipate outcomes and isolate individuals from others who are at risk.
Mount Sinai study finds Apple Watch can predict COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before testing | Darrell Etherington | February 9, 2021 | TechCrunchWe’re being told that it’s safe for people to go to their jobs but we need to isolate at home as much as possible.
Marketing Briefing: How the Super Bowl represents a return to normalcy that’s yet to become reality | Kristina Monllos | February 9, 2021 | Digiday
JUDNICK: My reaction is so visceral that I immediately, like you, isolate myself so I can breathe.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting | Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard | December 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey are, after all, carefully selected “types,” and to isolate them runs the risk of seeing the book as an allegory.
We can do that because of two things: strong health care…and strong public health that can track contacts and isolate them.
CDC Director: First U.S. Ebola Patient ‘Critically Ill’ | Abby Haglage | September 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBacked by NATO solidarity and economic sanctions with teeth, it just might isolate Putin enough that he backs off.
He made a decision to isolate himself, so I would ask did he think he was going to die when he realized he was exposed?
If now we wish to study one given form, it becomes necessary to isolate them from the others.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterIt is quite impossible to isolate children from every intimation of the erotic or the sexual.
The Sexual Life of the Child | Albert MollIt will be one of the future problems of plant and animal breeders to isolate and breed "mutants," as such organisms are called.
A Civic Biology | George William HunterDo not allow two young children habitually to isolate themselves in their play.
The Mother and Her Child | William S. SadlerUnfortunately I have yet been unable to isolate what causes the female principle here; so this is not a possibility yet.
The Double Spy | Dan T. Moore
British Dictionary definitions for isolate
to place apart; cause to be alone
med to quarantine (a person or animal) having or suspected of having a contagious disease
to obtain (a compound) in an uncombined form
to obtain pure cultures of (bacteria, esp those causing a particular disease)
electronics to prevent interaction between (circuits, components, etc); insulate
an isolated person or group
Origin of isolate
1Derived forms of isolate
- isolable, adjective
- isolability, noun
- isolator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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