Insulated

How to spell insulated

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce insulated

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does insulated mean?

1. verbCovered or surrounded something with a material that prevents the loss of heat, sound, or electricity.
2. adjectiveProtected by a layer that prevents the transfer of heat, sound, or electricity.

Insulated in a sentence

• verb

  The builders insulated the loft before the cold weather arrived.

• adjective

  The insulated flask kept the coffee hot all afternoon.

• verb

  Engineers insulated the wiring to stop any current from leaking.

• adjective

  An insulated jacket made the early morning commute bearable.

Where does insulated come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin noun insula, meaning 'island', a piece of land cut off and standing alone in the water. From insula scholars formed the verb insulare, 'to make into an island', and the idea of being set apart or isolated is the thread that runs through the whole family. English took up 'insulate' in the seventeenth century, at first in the literal sense of surrounding something with water like an island, and then more figuratively for cutting something off from its surroundings. By the eighteenth century the word had found its scientific home, describing materials that block the flow of heat or electricity by separating a body from what is around it. The same Latin insula also gave English 'isolate' and even 'peninsula' (literally 'almost an island'), so picturing a thing made into a lonely island helps fix the single s and the -ulate ending in memory.

How the word is built

• insul- (from Latin insula: island)
• -ate (verb-forming suffix)
• -ed (past tense / participle ending)