isolation

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Canada, US, UK/ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/Canada, US, UK[ˈʔaɪ-]Australia/ˌɑesəˈlæɪʃən/New Zealand/ˌaɪsəˈlæɪʃən/

noun

The state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.

“She lived her final year in complete isolation, not wanting to see anybody.”

Meanings

nounisolation (countable and uncountable, plural isolations)

plural isolations

  1. uncountableThe state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.

    She lived her final year in complete isolation, not wanting to see anybody.

    Synonyms: aloneness, seclusion, aloneness, loneliness, loneness, onehead, oneship, onlyhood

  2. countableuncountableThe act of isolating.
  3. countableuncountablediplomacyThe state of not having diplomatic relations with other countries (either with most or all other countries, or with specified other countries).

    Israel could offer to ease North Korea’s isolation with diplomatic recognition, […] ¶ […] But Washington’s strategy of increasing North Korean isolation left no room for back-channel talks with Tel Aviv, […]

    September 1993, Jon Brook Wolfsthal, “The Israeli initiative”, in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, volume 49, number 7, page 8
    2 more examples

    As of 1975, diplomatic ostracism is still imposed by the Organization of American States (OAS). The inter-American community also exercises a trade embargo against Cuba. But even within this context of hemispheric isolation, Havana’s diplomacy is strikingly contradictory.

    1975, W. Raymond Duncan, “Problems of Cuban Foreign Policy, chapter 20”, in Irving Louis Horowitz, editor, Cuban Communism, 5th edition, Transaction, published 1985, page 486

    It [Europe] now pressed Washington to begin direct talks with Tehran, but Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, Rice’s point man on Iran, still stressed that diplomatic isolation of Iran—and not diplomatic engagement—was the only acceptable approach for dealing with the Iranian nuclear challenge.

    2009, Dore Gold, The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West, Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, page 49
  4. countableuncountablechemistryThe obtaining of an element from one of its compounds, or of a compound from a mixture
  5. countableuncountablemedicineThe separation of a patient, suffering from a contagious disease, from contact with others (compare: quarantine)

    Upon returning from the field, he went into isolation for a week so as not to infect anyone with potential diseases.

  6. countableuncountablecomputingA database property that determines when and how changes made in one transaction are visible to other concurrent transactions.
  7. countableuncountablehuman sciencesA Freudian defense mechanism in which a person suppresses a harmful thought from developing into a train of thought.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe act of isolating something; setting something apart from others

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchisolation
  2. Englishisolation

First attested in 1800. From French isolation, from isolé, placed on an island (thus away from other people). Equivalent to isolate + -ion.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic تَوَحُّد
  • تَوَحُّد (tawaḥḥud)state of being isolated
Bulgarian изола́ция, изоли́ране
  • изола́ция (izolácija)state of being isolated
  • изоли́ране (izolírane)act of isolating
  • каранти́на (karantína)medicine: separation of a patient from others
  • отде́ляне (otdéljane)chemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
  • изоли́ране (izolírane)chemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
Catalan aïllament, isolament
  • aïllamentstate of being isolated
  • isolamentstate of being isolated
  • isolacióact of isolating
Chinese Mandarin 隔離 /隔离, 隔斷 /隔断
  • 隔離 /隔离 (gélí)state of being isolated
  • 隔斷 /隔断 (géduàn)state of being isolated
Czech izolace
  • izolacestate of being isolated
Danish isolation
  • isolationstate of being isolated
Dutch isolatie
  • isolatiestate of being isolated
Esperanto izoliteco
  • izolitecostate of being isolated
Estonian isolatsioon
  • isolatsioonstate of being isolated
Finnish eristys, eristyneisyys
  • eristysstate of being isolated
  • eristyneisyysstate of being isolated
  • eristäminenact of isolating
  • eristyneisyysdiplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations
  • eristysmedicine: separation of a patient from others
  • eristäminenmedicine: separation of a patient from others
  • eristäminenchemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
French isolement, isolation
  • isolementstate of being isolated
  • isolationact of isolating
  • isolementact of isolating
  • isolementdiplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations
  • isolementmedicine: separation of a patient from others
German Isolierung, Isolation
  • Isolierungstate of being isolated
  • Isolationstate of being isolated
Greek απομόνωση, απομόνωση
  • απομόνωση (apomónosi)state of being isolated
  • απομόνωση (apomónosi)act of isolating
  • απομόνωση (apomónosi)medicine: separation of a patient from others
  • καραντίνα (karantína)medicine: separation of a patient from others
  • απονόνωση (aponónosi)chemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
Hungarian elszigetelődés, elkülönülés
  • elszigetelődésstate of being isolated
  • elkülönülésstate of being isolated
  • izolációstate of being isolated
  • elvonultságstate of being isolated
  • elkülönültségstate of being isolated
  • elszigetelésact of isolating
  • elkülönítésact of isolating
  • izolációact of isolating
  • elkülönítőmedicine: separation of a patient from others
Icelandic einangrun
  • einangrunstate of being isolated
Irish leithlis, iargúltacht
  • leithlisstate of being isolated
  • iargúltachtstate of being isolated
  • leithlisiúact of isolating
Italian isolamento, isolamento
  • isolamentostate of being isolated
  • isolamentodiplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations
Japanese 隔離, 孤立
  • 隔離 (kakuri)state of being isolated
  • 孤立 (koritsu)state of being isolated
  • 分離 (bunri)state of being isolated
Korean 격리, 고립
  • 격리 (gyeongni)state of being isolated
  • 고립 (gorip)state of being isolated
  • 분리 (bulli)state of being isolated
Latvian atšķirtība, izolācija
  • atšķirtībastate of being isolated
  • izolācijastate of being isolated
Lithuanian atskyrimas, izoliacija
  • atskyrimasstate of being isolated
  • izoliacijastate of being isolated
Malay pengasingan, isolasi
  • pengasinganact of isolating
  • isolasiact of isolating
  • pengasinganchemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
Māori mohoaotanga, taratahitanga
  • mohoaotangastate of being isolated
  • taratahitangastate of being isolated
  • noho taratahimedicine: separation of a patient from others
Norwegian Bokmål isolering, isolasjon
  • isoleringstate of being isolated
  • isolasjonstate of being isolated
Persian انزوا
  • انزوا (enzevâ)state of being isolated
Polish izolacja, odosobnienie
  • izolacjastate of being isolated
  • odosobnieniestate of being isolated
  • izolacjaact of isolating
  • izolacjamedicine: separation of a patient from others
Portuguese isolamento, isolação
  • isolamentostate of being isolated
  • isolaçãostate of being isolated
  • isolaçãoact of isolating
  • isolamentoact of isolating
  • isolamentodiplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations
  • isolamentomedicine: separation of a patient from others
  • isolamentocomputing: visibility of concurrent transactions
  • isolamentochemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
Romanian izolare
  • izolarestate of being isolated
Russian изоля́ция, обособле́ние
  • изоля́ция (izoljácija)state of being isolated
  • обособле́ние (obosoblénije)state of being isolated
  • затво́рничество (zatvórničestvo)state of being isolated
  • изоля́ция (izoljácija)act of isolating
  • изоля́ция (izoljácija)diplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations
  • изоля́ция (izoljácija)chemistry: separation of a component from a mixture
Slovak izolácia
  • izoláciastate of being isolated
Spanish aislamiento, soledad
  • aislamientostate of being isolated
  • soledadstate of being isolated
  • aislamientoact of isolating
  • aislaciónact of isolating
Swedish isolering, isolering
  • isoleringstate of being isolated
  • isoleringact of isolating
  • isoleringmedicine: separation of a patient from others
Turkish izole etmek izole olmak, izolasyon
  • izole etmek izole olmakstate of being isolated
  • izolasyonact of isolating
Ukrainian ізоля́ція
  • ізоля́ція (izoljácija)state of being isolated

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with isolation

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

isolation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isolation

MLA

“isolation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isolation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “isolation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/isolation.

Source: isolation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.