isolated
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of isolated
First recorded in 1755–65; equivalent to French isol(é) (from Italian; see isolato) + -ate 1 + -ed 2
Explanation
Isolated means far away from everyone or everything else. The hermit who lives on a remote island is isolated from the rest of the world, with nothing but coconuts and fish to keep him company. The word isolated comes from the Latin word insula, which means island. You don't have to be on a remote island to feel isolated, though. Even people who live in big cities can feel a sense of isolation if they don't have many friends and spend a lot of time alone. In addition to remote or set apart, isolated can mean a single event, or incident. The high school students assured their principal that the cafeteria food fight was an isolated incident, promising that it would never, ever happen again.
Vocabulary lists containing isolated
A Long Walk to Water
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Wonder Woman's Superpower Words
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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.
On one hand, they could bolster the small, genetically isolated surviving population.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Long treated as isolated or individual diseases, the conditions are interrelated, usually tied to excess abdominal fat, and a major driver of heart disease, according to the AHA.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
"The slowdown is no longer isolated to a specific region, and is now visible in other regions such as Western Europe," said analysts at the consulting group Cirium.
From Barron's • Jun. 6, 2026
To be sure, there were isolated pockets of strength.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
Many of the isolated, heavily defended camps were on hilltops in remote locations near Vietnam’s western border with Cambodia and Laos where Special Forces could keep track of enemy movement.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
