isolate

• POS: Adjective, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: i=so=late

CIDE DICTIONARY

isolate, v. t. [It. isolato, p. p. of isolare to isolate, fr. isola island, L. insula. See 2d Isle, and cf. Insulate.].

•  To place in a detached situation; to place by itself or alone; to insulate; to separate from others; as, to isolate an infected person from others; to isolate the troublemakers in a classroom.  [1913 Webster]

  "Short isolated sentences were the mode in which ancient wisdom delighted to convey its precepts."  [1913 Webster]
•  To insulate. See Insulate.  [1913 Webster]
•  To separate from all foreign substances; to make pure; to obtain in a free state; as, to isolate the desired product from a reaction mixture.  [1913 Webster]
•  To obtain a culture of a microorganism in pure form (from a complex mixture); as, to isolate Eschericia coli from a patient's blood.  [PJC]

isolate, n. 

 Something that has been isolated; as, an isolate of a powerful antibiotic from a tropical plant; an isolate of tuberculosis bacillus from an infected patient.  [PJC]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

isolate, v.tr.
1 a place apart or alone, cut off from society. b place (a patient thought to be contagious or infectious) in quarantine.
2 a identify and separate for attention (isolated the problem). b Chem. separate (a substance) from a mixture.
3 insulate (electrical apparatus).

Derivative

isolable adj. isolatable adj. isolator n.

Etymology

orig. in past part., f. F isol{eacute} f. It. isolato f. LL insulatus f. L insula island

THESAURUS

isolate

abrupt, abscind, abstract, alienate, amputate, annihilate, apart, avoid, ban, banish, bar, block off, bob, bolt, cast off, cast out, clip, cloister, close off, cordon, cordon off, crop, cull, cull out, cut, cut adrift, cut away, cut off, cut out, debar, delete, depart, deport, detach, detached, disarticulate, disconnect, disengage, disjoin, disjoint, dissociate, disunite, divide, divorce, dock, eject, eliminate, enisle, enucleate, eradicate, estrange, except, excise, exclude, exile, expel, extinguish, extirpate, ghettoize, gin, ground, ignore, insulate, island, island-hop, isolated, keep apart, keep aside, knock off, lay aside, leave, lop, maroon, mutilate, nip, ostracize, pare, part, peel, pick out, prune, pull away, pull back, pull out, put aside, quarantine, reject, remove, removed, riddle, root out, rope off, rule out, screen, seal off, seclude, segregate, send to Coventry, separate, sequester, set apart, set aside, sever, shave, shear, shun, shut off, shut out, sieve, sift, snub, sort out, split, spurn, stamp out, stand aloof, stand apart, stand aside, step aside, strike off, strip, strip off, subtract, sunder, take off, take out, thrash, thresh, throw off, throw out, transport, truncate, unaccompanied, uncouple, unyoke, winnow, wipe out, withdraw

ROGET THESAURUS

isolate

Disjunction

VB be disjoined, come off, fall off, come to pieces, fall to pieces, peel off, get loose, disjoin, disconnect, disengage, disunite, dissociate, dispair, divorce, part, dispart, detach, separate, cut off, rescind, segregate, set apart, keep apart, insulate, isolate, throw out of gear, cut adrift, loose, unloose, undo, unbind, unchain, unlock, unpack, unravel, disentangle, set free, sunder, divide, subdivide, sever, dissever, abscind, circumcise, cut, incide, incise, saw, snip, nib, nip, cleave, rive, rend, slit, split, splinter, chip, crack, snap, break, tear, burst, rend, rend asunder, rend in twain, wrench, rupture, shatter, shiver, cranch, crunch, craunch, chop, cut up, rip up, hack, hew, slash, whittle, haggle, hackle, discind, lacerate, scamble, mangle, gash, hash, slice, cut up, carve, dissect, anatomize, dislimb, take to pieces, pull to pieces, pick to pieces, tear to pieces, tear to tatters, tear piecemeal, tear limb from limb, divellicate, skin, disintegrate, dismember, disbranch, disband, disperse, dislocate, disjoint, break up, mince, comminute, apportion, part, part company, separate, leave.

Unity

VB be one, be alone, dine with Duke Humphrey, isolate, render one, unite.