Isolation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/

Definitions

1. A state of being separated or cut off from others, either physically or emotionally
2. the act or condition of being separated, detached, or removed from contact with other people, groups, or things
3. a state of being alone or kept apart that results in disconnection from external influences or social interaction
4. the condition of being separated, removed, or detached from other people, places, or things
5. the state of existing apart or withdrawn from connection with the rest of society or surroundings

Etymology: The earliest sense of "isolation" was almost literal: a place cut off by water. The French "isolé," from Italian "isolato," meant "placed on an island," and it came from Latin "insula," "island." So a person in isolation was, in the first instance, figuratively stranded on an island away from everyone else, and the word has carried that image of separation ever since. English took the word from French in 1800, when it was first recorded. It was formed by adding the suffix "-ion," which turns a verb or adjective into a noun for a state or process, to "isolate," a word that English had borrowed from the same French "isolé" a little earlier. The result is a noun that names the condition of being set apart, whether by distance, circumstance, or deliberate choice.

Synonyms: seclusion, solitude, loneliness, separation, segregation

Antonyms: connection, integration, inclusion, togetherness, community