insular

Syllables: in·su·lar/ˈɪnsjələ/US/ˈɪnsəlɚ/

insular adjective: of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands.

Adjective

insular (comparative more insular, superlative most insular)

Of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands.
- Near-synonym: islandic
- At the time of the arrival of the Tonquin he had about forty schooners, of from twenty to thirty tons burthen, and one old American ship. With these he held undisputed sway over his insular domains, and carried on intercourse with the chiefs or governors whom he had placed in command of the several...1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter VI, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: [Henry Charles] Carey, [Isaac] Lea, & Blanchard...
Synonyms:

islandic
Separate or isolated from the surroundings; having little regard for others opinions or prejudices; provincial.
- Near-synonym: peninsular
- During the four years since his puppyhood he had lived the life of a sated aristocrat; he had a fine pride in himself, was even a trifle egotistical, as country gentlemen sometimes become because of their insular situation.1903 July, Jack London, “Into the Primitive”, in The Call of the Wild, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, pages 18–19
Synonyms:

peninsular
Having an inward-looking, standoffish, or withdrawn manner.
- Harriet was fretful and insular. Miss Abbott was pleasant, and insisted on praising everything: her only regret was that she had no pretty clothes with her.1905, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, chapter VI, in Where Angels Fear to Tread, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 202
Relating to the insula in the brain.
Relating to insulin.
(often with a capital letter) Relating to the varieties of a language or languages spoken chiefly on islands. Insular Latin, Latin as it was spoken in Britain and Ireland. Insular Celtic, the Celtic languages of Britain, Ireland and also Brittany, as opposed to those spoken in mainland Europe other than Brittany. Insular Scandinavian, relating to the Icelandic and Faroese languages as opposed to the ones spoken in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Noun

insular (plural insulars)

An islander.
- these insulars in general live in a gross saline air , and their vessels being less elastic are consequently less able to subdue and cast off what their bodies as sponges draw in1744, George Berkeley, Siris, a chain of philosophical reflections and inquiries, concerning the virtues of tar-water

insular meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

insular in Hindi

of, pertaining to, or resembling an island or islands: द्वीपीय dvīpīya, जज़ीराई jazīrāī, टापूई ṭāpūī

insular in Tamil

தீவுக்குரிய, தனியான, குறுகிய மனப்பான்மை கொண்ட, திட்டுத் திட்டாக ஆங்காங்கே

insular in Urdu

الگ تھلگ, محصور, پانی سے گھرا, تنگ نظر

insular in Bengali

দ্বীপপুঞ্জীয়, সংকীর্ণমনা, বিচ্ছিন্ন

More languagesFewer languages

insular in Telugu: ఇన్స్యులర్
insular in Malayalam: ദ്വീപിനെ സംബന്ധിച്ച, ഒറ്റ തിരിഞ്ഞ, ഏകാന്തമായ, ഇടുങ്ങിയ
insular in Kannada: ಸಂಕುಚಿತ ಭಾವನೆಯ, ಸಣ್ಣ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ, ಸಣ್ಣಮನದ, ಅಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ತಳೆದ
insular in Punjabi: ਇੰਸੁਲਰ
insular in Gujarati: ઇન્સ્યુલર
insular in Odia: ଇନସୁଲାର, ଇନସୁଲାର୍
insular in Nepali: इन्स्युलर, इन्सुलर
insular in Arabic: جَزَرِيّ jazariyy
insular in Malay: pulau, kepulauan
insular in Vietnamese: đảo, hòn đảo

Examples of insular in a sentence

With these he held undisputed sway over his insular domains, and carried on intercourse with the chiefs or governors whom he had placed in command of the several islands.1836 October, Washington Irving, chapter VI, in Astoria, or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. […], volume I...
There now is your insular city of the Manhattoes, belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs—commerce surrounds it with her surf.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Loomings”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers...

All 15 example sentences with insular

Synonyms of insular

Forms of insular

Adjective
comparative	more insular
superlative	most insular
Noun
plural	insulars

Origin of insular

Learned borrowing from Latin īnsulāris (“of or belonging to an island”), from īnsula (“an island”), of uncertain origin.

Phrases with insular

Questions about insular

What does insular mean?: Insular means of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands.
What is insular in Hindi?: Insular in Hindi is द्वीपीय (dvīpīya), जज़ीराई (jazīrāī), टापूई (ṭāpūī). See Insular meaning in Hindi.
How do you use insular in a sentence?: With these he held undisputed sway over his insular domains, and carried on intercourse with the chiefs or governors whom he had placed in command of the several islands.
What part of speech is insular?: Insular can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce insular?: Insular is pronounced /ˈɪnsjələ/ (UK).

Words near insular in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: insular (page history and authors); insular (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); insular (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Insular (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); insular (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); insular (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); insular (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); insular (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); insular (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); insular (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); insular (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-insular.wav.

Cite this entry: “insular.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/insular. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.