isolate

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To set apart or cut off from others.
2. v. To place in quarantine.
3. v. Chemistry To separate (a substance) in pure form from a combined mixture.
4. v. To render free of external influence; insulate.
5. v. Microbiology To separate (a pure strain) from a mixed bacterial or fungal culture.
6. v. Psychology To separate (experiences or memories) from the emotions relating to them.
7. v. Electricity To set apart (a component, circuit, or system) from a source of electricity.
8. v. Electricity To insulate or shield.
9. adj. Solitary; alone.
10. n. A person, thing, or group that has been isolated, as by geographic, ecologic, or social barriers.
11. n. Biology A population of bacteria or other cells that has been isolated.
12. n. Linguistics A language isolate.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To set or place apart; detach or separate so as to be alone: often used reflexively: as, he isolated himself from all society.
2. In electricity, same as insulate, 3.
3. In chem., to obtain (a substance) free from all its combinations.
4. Isolated; detached.
5. n. In psychology, a feature or quality abstracted by attention from the complex of qualities constituting an object and considered by itself alone; the result of an analysis of a construct.

Wiktionary

1. v. transitive To set apart or cut off from others.
2. v. transitive To place in quarantine or isolation.
3. v. transitive, chemistry To separate a substance in pure form from a mixture.
4. v. transitive To insulate, or make free of external influence.
5. v. transitive, microbiology To separate a pure strain of bacteria etc. from a mixed culture.
6. v. transitive To insulate an electrical component from a source of electricity.
7. n. Something that has been isolated.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To place in a detached situation; to place by itself or alone; to insulate; to separate from others.
2. v. (Elec.) To insulate. See Insulate.
3. v. (Chem.) To separate from all foreign substances; to make pure; to obtain in a free state.
4. v. (Microbiol.) To obtain a culture of a microorganism in pure form (from a complex mixture).
5. n. Something that has been isolated.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. set apart from others
2. v. obtain in pure form
3. v. place or set apart
4. v. separate (experiences) from the emotions relating to them