Meaning & use

isolate

verb·Academic

To set someone or something apart from others, cutting off contact or connection.

See it in a sentence

The hospital had to isolate patients with the contagious virus in a separate ward.

Researchers managed to isolate the gene responsible for the plant's resistance to drought.

A note on using this word

In science, 'isolate' often means to extract a single element for study, while in everyday use it usually means to keep someone alone.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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