isolate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone.
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Medicine/Medical. to keep (an infected person) from contact with noninfected persons; quarantine.
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Chemistry, Bacteriology. to obtain (a substance or microorganism) in an uncombined or pure state.
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Electricity. to insulate.
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Television. to single out (a person, action, etc.) for a camera closeup.
noun
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a person, thing, or group that is set apart or isolated, as for purposes of study.
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Psychology. a person, often shy or lacking in social skills, who avoids the company of others and has no friends within a group.
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Biology. an inbreeding population that is isolated from similar populations by physiological, behavioral, or geographic barriers.
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Also called language isolate. Linguistics. a language with no demonstrable genetic relationship, as Basque.
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something that has been isolated, as a by-product in a manufacturing process.
an isolate of soy flour.
adjective
verb
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to place apart; cause to be alone
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med to quarantine (a person or animal) having or suspected of having a contagious disease
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to obtain (a compound) in an uncombined form
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to obtain pure cultures of (bacteria, esp those causing a particular disease)
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electronics to prevent interaction between (circuits, components, etc); insulate
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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isolabilitynoun
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isolatornoun
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isolableadjective
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reisolateverb (used with object)
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unisolateverb (used with object)
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have isolatedperfect
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has isolatedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been isolatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is isolatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are isolatingprogressive
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am isolatingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been isolatingperfect progressive
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isolatingparticiple
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isolatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had isolatedperfect
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had been isolatingperfect progressive
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was isolatingprogressive singular
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were isolatingprogressive plural
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isolatedparticiple
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isolatedsimple
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
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List 15
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Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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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.
“It was used to diminish me, silence me, isolate me and cast me and my independent thoughts, words and deeds as suspicious.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Whey-protein isolate was reportedly going for around $14 a pound, the agency said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
“In real life I believe that wealth does in fact isolate you from other people. … You have your guard up much more so than you would if you didn’t have wealth.”
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
These particles selectively isolate lithium from other dissolved minerals.
From Science Daily • May 31, 2026
In 1957, the biochemist Arthur Kornberg set out to isolate the DNA-copying enzyme.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
