isolation

American  

[ahy-suh-ley-shuhn, is-uh-] / ˌaɪ səˈleɪ ʃən, ˌɪs ə- /

noun

1. an act or instance of isolating. isolating.

2. the state of being isolated. isolated.

3. the complete separation from others of a person suffering from contagious or infectious disease; quarantine.

   Synonyms:

   segregation

4. the separation of a nation from other nations by isolationism.

5. Psychoanalysis. a process whereby an idea or memory is divested of its emotional component.

6. Sociology. social isolation.

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Related Words

See solitude.

Other Word Forms

• anti-isolation adjective
• postisolation adjective
• reisolation noun

Etymology

Origin of isolation

First recorded in 1825–35; isolate + -ion

Example Sentences

Later in the record, on the patient and stately “Instead of Here,” she sings “I’m not here / I’m where nobody can reach,” and she makes isolation sound like a state of bliss.

From The Wall Street Journal

Red flags include isolation from family members, autopayments set up without the principal’s knowledge, sudden changes in living arrangements, “and financial transactions that don’t align with the principal’s interests.”

From MarketWatch

But could you cope with the cold and isolation?

From BBC

By then I was living back at my parents’ house, all my books in storage and anticipating my summer of isolation in the Valley.

From Los Angeles Times

The harsh environment would confine people to domes or underground shelters, where boredom and isolation would be real dangers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• confinement
• desolation
• remoteness
• segregation
• solitude