Isolation Meaning
/ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.
nounThe act of isolating.
Sentence Examples
We shouldn't confuse solitude with isolation. They are two separate things.
Isolation is the common lot of man.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient was placed in ____ because of the risk of infection.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Spending many days in total ____ can have a negative effect on a person's mental health and well-being.
Word Origin & History
First attested in 1800. From French isolation, from isolé, placed on an island (thus away from other people). Equivalent to isolate + -ion.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As of 1975, diplomatic ostracism is still imposed by the Organization of American States (OAS). The inter-American community also exercises a trade embargo against Cuba. But even within this context of hemispheric isolation, Havana’s diplomacy is strikingly contradictory."
— 1975, W. Raymond Duncan, “Problems of Cuban Foreign Policy, chapter 20”, in Irving Louis Horowitz, editor, Cuban Communism, 5th edition, Transaction, published 1985, page 486:
"Israel could offer to ease North Korea’s isolation with diplomatic recognition, […] ¶ […] But Washington’s strategy of increasing North Korean isolation left no room for back-channel talks with Tel Aviv, […]"
— September 1993, Jon Brook Wolfsthal, “The Israeli initiative”, in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, volume 49, number 7, page 8:
"It [Europe] now pressed Washington to begin direct talks with Tehran, but Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, Rice’s point man on Iran, still stressed that diplomatic isolation of Iran—and not diplomatic engagement—was the only acceptable approach for dealing with the Iranian nuclear challenge."
— 2009, Dore Gold, The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West, Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, page 49:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient was placed in ____ because of the risk of infection.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Spending many days in total ____ can have a negative effect on a person's mental health and well-being.