Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use insular in a sentence

15 example sentences · adjective, noun

Insular means of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands. Example: “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.”

Examples of insular by meaning

adjectiveSeparate or isolated from the surroundings; having little regard for others opinions or prejudices; provincial.

  • 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....

adjectiveHaving an inward-looking, standoffish, or withdrawn manner.

  • Harriet was fretful and insular.1905, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, chapter VI, in Where Angels Fear to Tread, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 202

More sentences with insular

  • It was clever and funny but insular: a hall of mirrors about authors and the publishing industry.2023 July 9, Alexandra Jacobs, “Grazed and Confused: In ‘The Vegan,’ a Guilty Hedge Funder Eats His Feelings”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry hall of mirrors
  • The Manx were not in the least provincial; they were profoundly insular—and the distinction is essential.2011, Jonathan Raban, Coasting: A Private Voyage, →ISBN. From the entry comeover
  • Following orders from Starfleet, the Enterprise is en route to Pai, throneworld of the insular and enigmatic Dragon Empire.2012, Kij Johnson, Dragon's Honor, →ISBN. From the entry throneworld
  • In its first decade, prize business was settled in the smoke-filled rooms of London clubs, where it remained resolutely insular.2009, Robert McCrum, “No Tóibín, no Trevor? Yes, it's time for more Booker controversy”, in The Guardian. From the entry smoke-filled room
  • Here the Textus Roffensis copy uses insular s exclusively (nineteen occurrences), with eight occurrences of ð but non of þ.2001, Carole Hough, “Palaeographical evidence for the compilation of Textus Roffensis”, in Scriptorium, number 55, page 59. From the entry insular s
  • We cannot have our insular position destroyed.1913 December 20, “The Memories of the Unattainable”, in The North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette: The Weekly Edition…. From the entry feng shui
  • Here, Cornish difference, particularly in the far west, is represented as originating in the insular, primitive and unworldly, and paradoxically reinforced through nonencounters with Islam.2013, Marion Gibson, Shelley Trower, Garry Tregidga, Mysticism, Myth and Celtic Identity, page 159. From the entry nonencounter
  • In the end the old kingdom was divided between the Angevin kingdom of Naples on the mainland and the insular Aragonese kingdom of Trinacria.2007, Jim Bradbury, The Capetians: Kings of France 987-1328, page 261. From the entry Kingdom of Trinacria
  • England has suffered cruelly because she would not think, because she was case-armoured in her insular conceit and the urbacity of her politicians.1918, The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, volume 125, page 388. From the entry urbacity
  • At the same time, Faludi, who is working on a new book about the headwinds feminism is facing, suggested that the movement itself has grown sectarian and insular.2022 June 17, Michelle Goldberg, “The Future Isn’t Female Anymore”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 21 Jul 2022. From the entry headwind
  • It is a society that has evolved separately from Britain’s mainland and its Anglican beliefs, but it looks like an alternative reality of fiercely insular, irrational England.2018 June 7, Peter Bradshaw, “The scariest horror films ever – ranked!”, in The Guardian. From the entry Brexity
  • Tinged with punk rock guitar blare often slowed down to midtempos, Death Cab appealed to the insular yet viral emo scene, as well as the broader indie-rock world.2008 May 18, R J Smith, “Death Cab Is Up for the Long Haul”, in New York Times. From the entry midtempo
  • But the final clinching argument is that the tunnel would destroy our insular position; and it is there that the Press carries public opinion with it.1913 December 20, “The Memories of the Unattainable”, in The North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette: The Weekly Edition…. From the entry feng shui

Meaning of insular

  1. adjective Of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands.
  2. adjective Separate or isolated from the surroundings; having little regard for others opinions or prejudices; provincial.
  3. adjective Having an inward-looking, standoffish, or withdrawn manner.

Full definition of insular

Questions about insular in a sentence

How do you use insular in a sentence?
Insular is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “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.”
What is a short sentence with insular?
“Harriet was fretful and insular.”
What does insular mean?
Insular means of or being, pertaining to, situated on, or resembling an island or islands.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: insular (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use insular in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/insular. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.