insularity

Meanings

1. 1noununcountabledisapproving

   A narrow way of thinking that comes from having little contact with different people, places, or ideas.

   Grammar: Used without a: criticize the insularity of the group.

   Patterns

   • the insularity of something

   Critics accused the committee of insularity because it never listened to outsiders.

   The insularity of the village meant strangers were treated with suspicion.

   Travel can break down the insularity that comes from living in one place.

2. 2noununcountableformal

   The condition of being on an island or cut off from other places, or of having the character of an island community.

   Grammar: Appears in geography or history: the insularity of the island.

   Patterns

   • the insularity of an island

   The insularity of the archipelago protected its unusual wildlife.

   Historians link the country's insularity to its sea borders.

   The insularity of the island community shaped its customs.

Common combinations

cultural insularity

Cultural insularity made the town hesitate to welcome newcomers.

break down insularity

Exchange programs help break down insularity among students.

national insularity

National insularity can make people ignore global problems.

geographic insularity

The island's geographic insularity shaped its dialect.

accused of insularity

The company was accused of insularity in its hiring.

Synonyms and how they differ

parochialism

Parochialism stresses a narrow concern with local matters, while insularity stresses being cut off from outside influence.

narrow-mindedness

Narrow-mindedness is plainer and more personal, whereas insularity describes a group or community that stays closed.

isolation

Isolation only means being separate, with no judgement about attitudes, while insularity implies a closed outlook.

provincialism

Provincialism suggests unsophisticated attitudes of a region away from the center, which is narrower than insularity.

Opposites

Word family

insular adjective

concerned only with your own group, or relating to an island

insularly adverb

in a closed, narrow way

island noun

a piece of land surrounded by water, the root idea

peninsula noun

land almost surrounded by water, from the same Latin root

Commonly confused: insularity or insulation?

Practice

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