isolated

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR isolated ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

separated from other persons or things; alone; solitary.

Nearby words

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

Examples from the Web for isolated

Isolated lesbians learned that there were other women like them via books whose covers aimed to titillate heterosexual men.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Which is impossible unless people talk publicly rather than letting each crime be its own isolated incident.
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
For many years, visitors were barred from the isolated towns.
The Himalayas’ Hidden Aryans|Nina Strochlic|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He has contributed to a false picture of law enforcement based on isolated injustices.
Bill de Blasio’s Tea Party Problem|Will Cain|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

All of us can readily conjure up horror scenarios by the isolated person acting badly.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Only in an isolated drainage basin can such level expanses occur among huge mountains.
Trans-Himalaya, Vol. 1 (of 2)|Sven Hedin
In his isolated castle he knew no superior, and his nature might yield willingly, but rebelled at being put down.
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest|Charlotte M. Yonge
Still, you see, our isolated position gives us a monopoly, and we're small enough to take a personal interest in our older hands.
For the Allinson Honor|Harold Bindloss
No other branch of the Indo-European stock has experienced an isolated evolution like this.
A History of Sanskrit Literature|Arthur A. MacDonell
Israel can no longer be isolated from the politics, culture, folk-lore, thought and religion of western Asia and Egypt.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 4|Various

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

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

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).

Medicine definitions for isolated

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.

isolated

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of isolated

isolate

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

noun

adjective

Origin of isolate

Examples from the Web for isolated

isolate

verb (ˈaɪsəˌleɪt) (tr)

noun (ˈaɪsəlɪt)

Word Origin for isolate

isolated

isolate

isolate

v.

n.