Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Isolation has 6 different meanings across 1 category:
a state of separation between persons or groups
"The strict quarantine measures created an intense isolation between the infected patients and the rest of the hospital staff."
a feeling of being disliked and alone
"After years in a small town, she felt a deep sense of isolation as neighbors avoided her at every event."
the act of isolating something; setting something apart from others
"The scientist decided to place the rare specimen in isolation to study its unique growth patterns without interference."
(psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which memory of an unacceptable act or impulse is separated from the emotion originally associated with it
"After his accidental error, he felt no guilt at all because his mind had isolated the memory of the mistake from any accompanying shame."
a country's withdrawal from international politics
"he opposed a policy of American isolation"
The state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.
"The new employee felt a deep sense of isolation after moving to the remote office far from home."
In plain English: Isolation is being separated from other people so that you are alone and cut off from everyone around you.
"She felt deep isolation when she moved to a remote cabin in the mountains."
Usage: Isolation refers to physical separation from others rather than emotional loneliness, so use it when describing someone physically cut off by distance or circumstance. It is often confused with "seclusion," which implies a voluntary choice to withdraw for privacy or peace.
The word entered English around 1800 via the French term isolation, which originally described something "placed on an island" and thus separated from others. It was formed by adding a suffix meaning "the act of" to the root for being alone or set apart.