insulate

insulate
[[t]ɪ̱nsjʊleɪt, AM -sə-[/t]]
insulates, insulating, insulated
1) VERB If a person or group is insulated from the rest of society or from outside influences, they are protected from them.

[be V-ed from/against n] They wonder if their community is no longer insulated from big city problems...

[V n from/against n] Their wealthy families had further insulated them from reality with the privilege that money could buy.

Syn:
Derived words:
insulation N-UNCOUNT

They lived in happy insulation from brutal facts.

2) VERB To insulate something such as a building means to protect it from cold or noise by covering it or surrounding it in a thick layer.

[V n] It will take almost 25 years to insulate the homes of the six million households that require this assistance...

[V n from/against n] Is there any way we can insulate our home from the noise?...

[V-ed] Are your hot and cold water pipes well insulated?

[V-ing] ...a garment lined with a light insulating material.

3) VERB If a piece of equipment is insulated, it is covered with rubber or plastic to prevent electricity passing through it and giving the person using it an electric shock.

[be V-ed] In order to make it safe, the element is electrically insulated.

[V-ing] ...electrical insulating tape.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • insulate — in‧su‧late [ˈɪnsjleɪt ǁ ˈɪnsə , ˈɪnʆə ] verb [transitive] to keep something safe from the harmful effects of something: insulate something from/​against something • Such a strategy helps insulate the portfolio from the stock market s volatility …   Financial and business terms

  • Insulate — In su*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Insulated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Insulating}.] [L. insulatus insulated, fr. insula island. See {Isle}, and cf. {Isolate}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To make an island of. [Obs.] Pennant. [1913 Webster] 2. To place in a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • insulate — I verb compartmentalize, cut off, detach, isolate, keep apart, quarantine, screen off, seclude, segregate, separate, sequester, set apart, zone II index isolate, protect, seclude Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton …   Law dictionary

  • insulate — (v.) 1530s, make into an island, from L. insulatus, from insula (see INSULAR (Cf. insular)). Sense of cause a person or thing to be detached from surroundings is from 1785. Electrical/chemical sense of block from electricity or heat is from 1742 …   Etymology dictionary

  • insulate — vb *isolate, segregate, seclude, sequester Analogous words: *separate, part, sever, sunder: *detach, disengage …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • insulate — [v] protect; close off coat, cocoon, cushion, cut off, inlay, island, isolate, keep apart, line, seclude, separate, sequester, set apart, shield, tape, treat, wrap; concept 172 …   New thesaurus

  • insulate — ► VERB 1) protect by interposing material to prevent loss of heat or intrusion of sound. 2) cover with non conducting material to prevent the passage of electricity. 3) protect from something unpleasant. DERIVATIVES insulator noun. ORIGIN from… …   English terms dictionary

  • insulate — [in′sə lāt΄; in′soolāt΄, in′syoolāt΄] vt. insulated, insulating [< L insulatus, made like an island < insula, ISLE] 1. to set apart; detach from the rest; isolate 2. to separate or cover with a nonconducting material in order to prevent the …   English World dictionary

  • insulate — in|su|late [ˈınsjuleıt US ˈınsə , ˈınʃə ] v [T] [Date: 1500 1600; : Latin; Origin: insula; INSULAR] 1.) to cover or protect something with a material that stops electricity, sound, heat etc from getting in or out insulate sth from/against sth ▪… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • insulate — verb (T) 1 to cover or protect something so that electricity, sound, heat etc cannot get in or out: insulated cables | insulate sth from/against: A bird fluffs up its feathers to insulate itself against the cold. 2 to protect someone from… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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