INSULATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does insulate mean? 

• INSULATE (verb)
  The verb INSULATE has 2 senses:

1. protect from heat, cold, or noise by surrounding with insulating material

2. place or set apart

  Familiarity information: INSULATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INSULATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they insulate    ... he / she / it insulates   
Past simple: insulated   
Past participle: insulated   
-ing form: insulating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Protect from heat, cold, or noise by surrounding with insulating material

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

We had his bedroom insulated before winter came

Hypernyms (to "insulate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "insulate"):

weatherstrip (provide with weatherstripping)

soundproof (insulate against noise)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

insulant (insulating material that reduces or prevents the transmission of heat or sound or electricity)

insulation (the act of protecting something by surrounding it with material that reduces or prevents the transmission of sound or heat or electricity)

insulation (insulating material that reduces or prevents the transmission of heat or sound or electricity)

insulator (a material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Place or set apart

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

insulate; isolate

Context example:

They isolated the political prisoners from the other inmates

Hypernyms (to "insulate" is one way to...):

discriminate; separate; single out (treat differently on the basis of sex or race)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "insulate"):

segregate (separate or isolate (one thing) from another and place in a group apart from others)

ghettoise; ghettoize (put in a ghetto)

cloister (seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister)

seclude; sequester; sequestrate; withdraw (keep away from others)

quarantine (place into enforced isolation, as for medical reasons)

maroon (leave stranded on a desert island without resources)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

insulation (the state of being isolated or detached)

 Context examples 

The outer coat is lined with a dense undercoat, which helps insulate the dog in even the coldest water.

(Irish Water Spaniel, NCI Thesaurus)

The state of an insulated wire designed to conduct energy from an electrical device to an anatomic site.

(In Situ Lead Status, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

The most important recognized function of these cells is the formation of the insulating myelin sheaths of axons in the central nervous system.

(Murine Oligodendroglia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Neuroglial cells of the peripheral nervous system which form the insulating myelin sheaths of peripheral axons.

(Murine Schwann Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

The joint research team recently built a complex brain-like network by integrating numerous silver (Ag) nanowires coated with a polymer (PVP) insulating layer approximately 1 nanometer in thickness.

(Neuromorphic Metallic Nanowire Network Shows Human Brain-Like Functions, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An insulated electrical conductor designed to connect to an electrical device for which the lead is in situ.

(In Situ Existing Lead, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

Electrospinning is used in other industries to wrap, filter and insulate various commercial products.

(Scientists Develop Spray Gun to Paint Bandages onto Wounds, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It’s believed to be an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheaths that insulate nerves.

(Vitamin D Levels Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression, NIH)

An insulated electrical conductor designed to connect to an electrical device.

(Lead Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

Carbon nanotubes can also be "doped," or modified with small amounts of other elements, giving them electrical properties that include fully insulating, semiconducting, and fully conducting.

(Carbon Nanotubes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)