isolate
verb (used with object)
to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.
was isolating
-
past progressiveof isolate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Meanwhile Singapore's Communicable Diseases Agency said it was isolating and testing two men - a 67-year-old Singaporean and a 65-year-old permanent resident - who disembarked the ship in St Helena.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Archaeology tends to prioritize human remains, so the tiny bones the team had to work with were not all well-preserved or well-labeled—nor was isolating pathogen DNA within them an easy task.
From Science Magazine ● May 3, 2024
It’s unclear how he received this information or why he was isolating himself.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 1, 2024
At the same time, the Ortega government was isolating itself internationally: It expelled the Vatican’s envoy and the representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
I was isolating myself from educated society but I was not perturbed at the thought of the hardship, the sufferings, the dangers that lay before me.
From My Friends the Savages Notes and Observations of a Perak settler (Malay Peninsula) by I. Stone Sanpietro
