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   isolate

   verb

   • 1. cause (a person or place) to be or remain alone or apart from others: "a country which is isolated from the rest of the world" Similar separateset apartsegregatedetachcut offkeep apartcocooninsulatequarantinekeep in solitudesequestercloistersecludedivorceshut awayalienatedistanceexcludekeep outcordon offform a ring aroundput a cordon sanitaire aroundseal offclose offfence offrope offscreen offtape offcurtain offshut offpartition offOpposite integrate
   • ▪ place (a person or animal) in quarantine to prevent the spread of an infectious disease: "the best way to isolate sick fish is to set up a hospital tank" Similar separateset apartsegregatedetachcut offkeep apartcocooninsulatequarantinekeep in solitudesequestercloistersecludedivorceshut awayalienatedistanceexcludekeep outcordon offform a ring aroundput a cordon sanitaire aroundseal offclose offfence offrope offscreen offtape offcurtain offshut offpartition offOpposite integrate
   • ▪ remain apart from others for a period of time, especially in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease: "the governor urged residents to isolate to limit the spread of the virus"
   • 2. identify (something) and examine or deal with it separately: "his difficulty will be to isolate the factors which are most significant" Similar identifysingle outpick outspotpoint outrecognizepinpointpin downput one's finger ondiscerndistinguishdiscoverfindlocatesort outfilter outseparate outweed outOpposite confuse
   • ▪ cut off the electrical or other connection to (something, especially a part of a supply network): "engineers isolated the gas supply to the house"
   • ▪ cut off the electrical or other connection to (something, especially a part of a supply network).
   • ▪ obtain or extract (a compound, microorganism, etc.) in a pure form: "the medical world would never come to grips with polio until it could isolate the virus which caused it"

   noun

   • 1. a person or thing that has been or become isolated: "social isolates often become careless of their own welfare"
   • 2. a culture of microorganisms isolated for study.

   Word Origin early 19th century (as a verb): back-formation from isolated.

   Derivatives

   • 1. isolable adjective
   • 2. isolatable adjective
   • 3. isolator noun

   Scrabble Points: 7

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