I. īsəˌlāt also ˈisə- sometimes ˈīzə-; usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: back-formation from isolated
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to set apart from others : cause to be detached from others and alone : place alone : make solitary
a tiny village that had been isolated from civilization
(2) : to cause to be stranded : cut off
isolated what was left of the fleeing army
b. : to keep apart or away from others so as to minimize or wholly reduce any effect on others ; specifically : to separate (one with a contagious disease) from others not similarly infected
kept very close track of all carriers and isolated them whenever they gave positive results — V.G.Heiser
— compare quarantine
c. : to single out : pinpoint
isolating the most important sense of a word
2. : to separate (as a chemical compound) from all other substances : obtain pure or in a free state
3. : insulate 2a
intransitive verb
: to cause something to be isolated
II. -ˌlā]t, -_lə̇], usu ]d.+V\ adjective
Etymology: probably from isolate (I) , after such pairs as appropriate, v. : appropriate, adjective
: isolated
III. noun
( -s )
1. : an isolated factor, function, or process
the smallest human isolate is a culture — J.K.Feibleman
no one historical epoch and no one cultural isolate can present the permanent features of society — Georgiana Melvin
2. : something singled out for observation : abstract 3
isolates which could be described … as if they completely represented the physical world from which they had been extracted — Lewis Mumford
3. : a chemical compound (as geraniol) separated from an essential oil for use in perfumes
4.
a. : a spore, single organism, or viable part of an organism that has been isolated (as from diseased tissue, contaminated water, or the air) ; often : a pure culture produced from such an isolate
b. : an individual or strain isolated from a natural population (as for the study of a pathogenic fungus or bacterium)
5. : a relatively homogeneous population separated from related populations by geographic or biologic or social factors or by the intervention of man — compare biotype , clone , isolation 2
6. : an individual living in isolation from particular phases of an environment ; especially : an individual socially withdrawn or removed from society through rejection of or incapacity for interpersonal relationships