isolated
Americanadjective
Other Word 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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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.
Some isolated showers may arrive later in the week.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“When workers feel isolated, they don’t build community. The first step of of fighting back is getting to know each other, getting to talk to each other.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Ismail al-Saifi, another resident of Tell, told AFP the settlers' presence in the village was not an isolated incident, and that locals had decided to fight back on Friday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
To compound matters, the wheelchair accessible allocation was on the opposite side of the ground to the away section, leaving Jones isolated.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Those residing in ghetto communities were particularly ill equipped to adapt to the seismic changes taking place in the U.S. economy; they were left isolated and jobless.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
