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isolated

[ahy-suh-ley-tid, is-uh-]
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adjective

separated from other persons or things; alone; solitary.

Origin of isolated

1755–65; < French isolé isolated (< Italian; see isolato); see -ate1, -ed2
Related formsi·so·lat·ed·ly, adverbsem·i-i·so·lat·ed, adjective

isolate

[verb ahy-suh-leyt; noun, adjective ahy-suh-lit, -leyt]

verb (used with object), i·so·lat·ed, i·so·lat·ing.

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.

noun

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.

adjective

isolated; alone.

Origin of isolate

First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from isolated
Related formsi·so·la·tor, nounre·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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for isolated

secluded, unusual, lonely, remote, segregated, outlying, deserted, confined, hidden, detached, retired, abandoned, stranded, forsaken, screened, single, withdrawn, abnormal, alone, anomalous

Examples from the Web for isolated

Contemporary Examples of isolated

Historical Examples of isolated

  • The Causses, owing to their isolated position, may be said to have escaped a history.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • Standing up, I pointed to distant mountains and isolated peaks.

    Green Mansions

    W. H. Hudson

  • The book I give to the public, is not made up of isolated articles.

    Slavery Ordained of God

    Rev. Fred A. Ross, D.D.

  • Hermits and those who live on isolated farms are interesting in this respect.

  • If only he had been an isolated soul he would not have felt so keenly.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for isolated

isolate

verb (ˈaɪsəˌleɪt) (tr)

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

noun (ˈaɪsəlɪt)

an isolated person or group
Derived Formsisolable, adjectiveisolability, nounisolator, noun

Word Origin for isolate

C19: back formation from isolated, via Italian from Latin insulātus, literally: made into an island; see insulate
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
Word Origin and History for isolated
adj.

1763, from French isolé "isolated" (17c.) + English -ated (see -ate (2)). The French word is from Italian isolato, from Latin insulatus "made into an island," from insula "island." The French word was used at first in English (isole, also isole'd, c.1750), then after isolate became an English word, isolated became its past participle.

isolate

v.

by 1786, a new formation from isolated (q.v.).

The translation of this work is well performed, excepting that fault from which few translations are wholly exempt, and which is daily tending to corrupt our language, the adoption of French expressions. We have here evasion for escape, twice or more times repeated; brigands very frequently; we have the unnecessary and foolish word isolate; and, if we mistake not, paralize, which at least has crept in through a similar channel. Translators cannot be too careful on this point, as it is a temptation to which they are constantly exposed. ["The British Critic," April 1799]

As a noun from 1890, from earlier adjectival use (1819).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
isolated in Medicine

isolate

[ī′sə-lāt′]

v.

To set apart or cut off from others.
To place in quarantine.
To separate a pure strain from a mixed bacterial or fungal culture.
To separate or remove a chemical substance out of a combined mixture.
To separate experiences or memories from the emotions relating to them.

n.

A bacterial or fungal strain that has been isolated.
Related formsi′so•la′tor n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.