insular
Americanadjective
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narrow-minded or illiberal; provincial.
insular attitudes toward foreigners.
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standing alone; detached; isolated.
an insular building.
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of or relating to an island or islands.
a nation's insular possessions.
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dwelling or situated on an island.
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forming an island.
insular rocks.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of islanders or isolated people.
insular tribes;
insular sects.
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Pathology. occurring in or characterized by one or more isolated spots, patches, or the like.
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Anatomy. pertaining to an island of cells or tissue, as the islets of Langerhans.
noun
adjective
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of, relating to, or resembling an island
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remote, detached, or aloof
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illiberal or narrow-minded
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isolated or separated
Other Word Forms
- insularism noun
- insularity noun
- insularly adverb
- interinsular adjective
- transinsular adjective
- uninsular adjective
Etymology
Origin of insular
From the Late Latin word insulāris, dating back to 1605–15. See insula, -ar 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Warsh has described the Fed as insular and committed to outdated economic models.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
“We were extremely inconsiderate, insular and uncommunicative with each other that things like that always spilled on the sidelines,” the drummer said on the podcast.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
“He was quiet, insular and not exactly blessed with social skills,” Mr. Corera writes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
From a scientific perspective, warm social contact activates specialised C-tactile afferents and temperature-sensitive pathways that send signals to the insular cortex.
From Science Daily • Jan. 4, 2026
Seaborg’s early life told the same quintessentially American story of immigration and assimilation as Ernest Lawrence’s, although his upbringing was rather more insular and culturally constrained than that in the Lawrences’ educated household.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
