as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
an insular community that is not receptive of new ideas, especially from outsiders
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insular
According to the study, many insular or island duck species had reduced flying abilities.
—
Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025
In Experiment City, scientific progress and a collective ethos have had counterintuitive social consequences: Citizens occupy uniform studio apartments, becoming increasingly insular and fastidious about the cleanness of their bodies.
—Madeleine Feeny, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
The Texas emergency appears to have begun in an insular religious community with high vaccination exemption rates; 14 percent of all children in Gaines County have exemptions.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 18 Mar. 2025
Our heroine is Devon (Meghann Fahy), a hot mess from Buffalo who has arrived on a rich and insular Martha’s Vineyard-eque island in search of her younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock).
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for insular
Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 12 May 2025
In Experiment City, scientific progress and a collective ethos have had counterintuitive social consequences: Citizens occupy uniform studio apartments, becoming increasingly insular and fastidious about the cleanness of their bodies.
—Madeleine Feeny, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
The Texas emergency appears to have begun in an insular religious community with high vaccination exemption rates; 14 percent of all children in Gaines County have exemptions.
—Dylan Scott, Vox, 18 Mar. 2025
Our heroine is Devon (Meghann Fahy), a hot mess from Buffalo who has arrived on a rich and insular Martha’s Vineyard-eque island in search of her younger sister Simone (Milly Alcock).
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for insular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insular
Adjective
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Yet somehow, all these factors, seemingly easily translatable across the world’s cuisines, has led to an intensely parochial guide.—
Tulasi Srinivas,
The Conversation,
3 June 2025
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This is a parochial political world, overshadowed by the federal bureaucracy.—
Cuneyt Dil,
Axios,
25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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These scopes will be able to resolve features as small as 8 inches (20 centimeters) on the lunar surface from an altitude of 31 miles (50 kilometers), according to Firefly.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
18 June 2025
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These small transactions often lead to bigger, more damaging fraud if ignored.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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The film is described as an intense drama about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, caught between petty scams and the hope of a better life in Germany.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
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In the end, what started as a petty doormat rivalry has turned into something much more joyful.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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British India faced Soviet Central Asia across the Wakhan Corridor, a strip of Afghanistan only eleven miles wide at its narrowest points, which in 1893 had been designated the buffer zone between the Russian and British Empires.—
Dorothy Armstrong
June 18,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2025
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This is due to the narrow percentage of Black filmmakers who have been given the space to make and distribute films for theatrical release.—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insular. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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