isolated definition | Dictionary.com

i⋅so⋅lat⋅ed

[ahy-suh-ley-tid, is-uh-]

–adjective

separated from other persons or things; alone; solitary.

Origin:
1755–65; < F isolé isolated (< It; see isolato ); see -ate, -ed ²

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Language Translation for : isolated

Spanish:

aislado,

German:

alleinstehend,

Japanese:

孤立した

View 30 other languages »

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i⋅so⋅late

[v. ahy-suh-leyt; n., adj. ahy-suh-lit, -leyt]

verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing, noun, adjective

–verb (used with object)

1.	to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.

2.	Medicine/Medical. to keep (an infected person) from contact with noninfected persons; quarantine.

3.	Chemistry, Bacteriology. to obtain (a substance or microorganism) in an uncombined or pure state.

4.	Electricity. to insulate.

5.	Television. to single out (a person, action, etc.) for a camera closeup.

–noun

6.	a person, thing, or group that is set apart or isolated, as for purposes of study.

7.	Psychology. a person, often shy or lacking in social skills, who avoids the company of others and has no friends within a group.

8.	Biology. an inbreeding population that is isolated from similar populations by physiological, behavioral, or geographic barriers.

9.	Also called language isolate. Linguistics. a language with no demonstrable genetic relationship, as Basque.

10.	something that has been isolated, as a by-product in a manufacturing process: an isolate of soy flour.

–adjective

11.	isolated; alone.

Origin:
1800–10; back formation from isolated

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Cite This Source

i·so·late (ī'sə-lāt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. i·so·lat·ed, i·so·lat·ing, i·so·lates

To set apart or cut off from others.
To place in quarantine.
Chemistry To separate (a substance) in pure form from a combined mixture.
To render free of external influence; insulate.
Microbiology To separate (a pure strain) from a mixed bacterial or fungal culture.
Psychology To separate (experiences or memories) from the emotions relating to them.
Electricity
1. To set apart (a component, circuit, or system) from a source of electricity.
2. To insulate or shield.

adj. (-lĭt, -lāt')
Solitary; alone.
n. (-lĭt, -lāt')

A person, thing, or group that has been isolated, as by geographic, ecologic, or social barriers.
Biology A population of bacteria or other cells that has been isolated.
Linguistics A language isolate.

[Back-formation from isolated.]
i'so·la'tor n.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to separate from others: a mountain that isolated the village from larger towns; insulated herself from the chaos surrounding her; a celebrity who was secluded from public scrutiny; segregated the infectious patients in a special ward; sequestering a jury during its deliberations.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

i·so·lat·ed (ī'sə-lā'tĭd) Pronunciation Key
adj. Separated from others; solitary or singular: Reporters in the field observed isolated instances of rebellion.

[From French isolé, from Italian isolato, from Latin īnsulātus, made into an island, from īnsula, island.]

isolated
adjective
1.	not close together in time; "isolated instances of rebellion"; "a few stray crumbs"
2.	being or feeling set or kept apart from others; "she felt detached from the group"; "could not remain the isolated figure he had been"- Sherwood Anderson; "thought of herself as alone and separated from the others"; "had a set-apart feeling" [syn: detached]
3.	marked by separation of or from usually contiguous elements; "little isolated worlds, as abruptly disjunct and unexpected as a palm-shaded well in the Sahara"- Scientific Monthly [syn: disjunct]
4.	cut off or left behind; "an isolated pawn"; "several stranded fish in a tide pool"; "travelers marooned by the blizzard"
5.	under forced isolation especially for health reasons; "a quarantined animal"; "isolated patients"
6.	remote and separate physically or socially; "existed over the centuries as a world apart"; "preserved because they inhabited a place apart"- W.H.Hudson; "tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization"; "an obscure village" [syn: apart]