isolate

Verb
Synonyms: insulatesequestersequestratekeep apartset apart

WordNet 3.0

Verb (4)

  1. place or set apart“They isolated the political prisoners from the other inmates”Synonyms: insulate
  2. obtain in pure form“The chemist managed to isolate the compound”
  3. set apart from others“The dentist sequesters the tooth he is working on”Synonyms: sequestersequestratekeep apartset apart
  4. separate (experiences) from the emotions relating to them
Advertisement

Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Isolate \I"so*late\ ([imac]"s[-o]*l[asl]t or [imac]s"[-o]*l[=a]t`), 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]
Isolate \I"so*late\ ([imac]"s[-o]*l[=a]t or [imac]s"[-o]*l[=a]t; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Isolated ([imac]"s[-o]*l[=a]`t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Isolating ([imac]"s[-o]*l[=a]`t[i^]ng).] [It. isolato, p. p. of isolare to isolate, fr. isola island, L. insula. See 2d Isle, and cf. Insulate.] [1913 Webster]

1.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 +PJC]

Short isolated sentences were the mode in which ancient wisdom delighted to convey its precepts.— Bp. Warburton.[1913 Webster]

2.(Elec.) To insulate. See Insulate. [1913 Webster]

3.(Chem.) To separate (a substance) 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 +PJC]

4.(Microbiol.) 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]

Advertisement