Which to use
“isolate” is a verb and “isolated” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,000
- “isolate” frequency rank
- #4,767
- “isolated” frequency rank
- 17767
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | isolate | isolated |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To set apart or cut off from others. | Placed or standing apart or alone; in isolation. |
Where the eye mixes isolate and isolated
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between isolate and isolated
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: isolate is /ˈaɪ.sə.leɪt/ while isolated is /ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “isolate” sits inside “isolated”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17767, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
isolate is recorded at frequency rank #13,000, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈaɪ.sə.leɪt/. isolated is at rank #4,767, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 17767, this pair ranks #449,275 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of isolate vs isolated
Shared letters: aeilost. Private to "isolate": -. Private to "isolated": d.
"isolate" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "isolated" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "isolate" and "isolated" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "isolate" or "isolated"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "isolate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isolated" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #449,275 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "isolate" and "isolated" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "insulate vs isolate". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #449,275 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.