isolate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
isolates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
isolated,
past participle, past
-
isolating
present participle
-
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
verb
-
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
isolabilitynoun
-
isolatornoun
-
reisolateverb (used with object)
-
unisolateverb (used with object)
-
isolableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
isolatesimple
-
isolatessimple
-
have isolatedperfect
-
has isolatedperfect
-
am isolatingprogressive
-
are isolatingprogressive
-
is isolatingprogressive
-
have been isolatingperfect progressive
-
has been isolatingperfect progressive
Past
-
isolatedsimple
-
had isolatedperfect
-
was isolatingprogressive
-
were isolatingprogressive
-
had been isolatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of isolate
First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from isolated
Explanation
When you remove or set apart one thing from others, you isolate it. You could isolate yourself from people by living in a remote hut or, if you're a biologist, you could isolate a chromosome. The verb isolate comes from the adjective isolated, which comes from the Latin insulatas, meaning “made into an island.” You may have heard the John Donne quote, “No man is an island.” Donne was claiming that no matter how much you might try to isolate yourself from the rest of humanity, in the end people are all connected to one another. Humanity’s need for connectedness may, in fact, be illustrated by the fact that jailers frequently isolate criminals as punishment.
Vocabulary lists containing isolate
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 15
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez criticized calls to isolate Spain, arguing the country’s border controls remain intact and warning against measures that could undermine European unity.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Then there’s the fact that Nicaraguan migrants in the United States are a smaller and less powerful force than Cuban Americans, many of whom have lobbied Washington for decades to isolate and overthrow Havana’s leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Traditional laboratory methods can isolate and identify peptides, but the process can produce enormous amounts of data.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
The incubation period of Ebola ranges from two to 21 days and the humanitarian worker will be required to isolate throughout.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Then imagine the skill required to isolate this particle, to take it apart and analyze its components and determine their highly complex functioning.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
While Mr. Graham-Dixon isolates the technical from the theological, Mr. Weber integrated the “optical and iconographic” aspects of Vermeer’s life and work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
By operating as a separate entity, GenCo isolates the cost of new growth to data centers, according to NiSource.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
To identify these enzymes, the research team used a technique that isolates proteins physically attached to chromatin, the natural packaging of DNA in human cells.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026
"We want to build a care system that supports them, not isolates them."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2025
A waist-high barrier isolates it from the rest of the space.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Quarks and gluons cannot remain isolated, so after the collision they quickly combine with other particles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
And if people prefer a congenial bot over messy human relationships, they can lose social skills, become isolated, or even spiral.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Ricky Bobby lives in a McMansion in some isolated North Carolina community.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The move came partly because of their isolated location in the north of the territory among many Palestinian cities and villages.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 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
The setup made it possible to recreate extreme conditions that ordinary solid materials cannot reach while isolating the effects of particle collisions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
"Decisions of state are not made by one person alone, and they cannot be judged honestly by isolating one moment from the whole crisis," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Unlike deaths with associated rituals, road maps, and standards, those that are disenfranchised are complex, underacknowledged, and often isolating.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
A monthslong internet blackout has severely disrupted online commerce, further isolating the youth demographic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Increasingly, the nation’s richest are spending their money on personal services or exclusive experiences and isolating themselves from the masses in ways that go beyond building gated walls.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
