isolation

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isolation

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

Rhymes with -eɪʃən

Where it comes from

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

noun isolations

  1. uncountable 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.

    Similar: aloneness, seclusion, isolation, loneliness, loneness, onehead, oneship, onlyhood, onliness, solitariness, solitude

  2. countable, uncountable The act of isolating.
  3. countable, uncountable, of a country The state of not having diplomatic relations with other countries (either with most or all other countries, or with specified other countries). 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.
  4. countable, uncountable The obtaining of an element from one of its compounds, or of a compound from a mixture
  5. countable, uncountable The 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. countable, uncountable A database property that determines when and how changes made in one transaction are visible to other concurrent transactions.
  7. countable, uncountable A Freudian defense mechanism in which a person suppresses a harmful thought from developing into a train of thought.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: reclusiveness, closing off, seclusion, insularity, isolate, alienation, separate, secret, isolationism, exclusion, solitary, solitaire, cell, solitude, isolated, individual

Translations

Every language

noun chemistry: separation of a component from a mixture

Portuguêsisolamento
Ελληνικάαπονόνωση aponónosi
Русскийизоля́ция izoljácija

noun state of being isolated

Españolaislamiento, soledad
한국어격리 gyeongni, 고립 gorip, 분리 bulli
日本語隔離 kakuri, 孤立 koritsu, 分離 bunri
中文隔離 /隔离 gélí, 隔斷 /隔断 géduàn
Portuguêsisolamento, isolação
Françaisisolement
DeutschIsolierung, Isolation
Italianoisolamento
Ελληνικάαπομόνωση apomónosi
Românăizolare
Русскийизоля́ция izoljácija, обособле́ние obosoblénije, затво́рничество zatvórničestvo
العربيةتَوَحُّد tawaḥḥud

noun act of isolating

Españolaislamiento, aislación
Portuguêsisolação, isolamento
Françaisisolation, isolement
Ελληνικάαπομόνωση apomónosi
Русскийизоля́ция izoljácija

noun diplomacy: state of not having diplomatic relations

Portuguêsisolamento
Françaisisolement
Italianoisolamento
Русскийизоля́ция izoljácija

noun medicine: separation of a patient from others

Portuguêsisolamento
Françaisisolement
Ελληνικάαπομόνωση apomónosi, καραντίνα karantína

noun computing: visibility of concurrent transactions

Portuguêsisolamento

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Cite this
MLA

"isolation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/isolation. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

isolation. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/isolation

Chicago

"isolation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/isolation.

BibTeX
@misc{isolation_2026,
  title = {isolation},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/isolation},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}