Synonyms of isolation

isolation

noun

ˌī-sə-ˈlā-shən 

as in solitude

the state of being alone or kept apart from others

after the long book tour, the author looked forward to the isolation of his office

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solitude
• privacy
• loneliness
• segregation
• seclusion
• aloneness
• separateness
• insulation
• solitariness
• sequestration
• confinement
• secludedness
• internment
• vacuum
• retirement
• quarantine
• withdrawal
• lonesomeness
• incarceration
• ghettoization

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• society
• company
• companionship
• fellowship
• camaraderie
• comradeship

Synonym Chooser

How is the word isolation distinct from other similar nouns?

The words seclusion and solitude are common synonyms of isolation. While all three words mean "the state of one who is alone," isolation stresses detachment from others often involuntarily.

the isolation of the village in winter

In what contexts can seclusion take the place of isolation?

The synonyms seclusion and isolation are sometimes interchangeable, but seclusion suggests a shutting away or keeping apart from others often connoting deliberate withdrawal from the world or retirement to a quiet life.

lived in pastoral seclusion

When might solitude be a better fit than isolation?

While the synonyms solitude and isolation are close in meaning, solitude may imply a condition of being apart from all human beings or of being cut off by wish or circumstances from one's usual associates.

a few quiet hours of solitude

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of isolation

Forty-five of those in medical isolation are at Tomoka and Blackwater River. —Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

Researchers have noted that the focus of community, culture and family structures within Indigenous populations can protect against some early-life stresses and social isolation, a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. —Holly J. McDede, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025

Across corporate America, companies are using architecture to reverse the isolation of remote work. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

These latter cases are tragic, and tend to involve a combination of social isolation and extensive use of AI bots, which may reinforce each other. —Damon Beres, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2025