isolation

/ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/

//ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"isolation" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“isolation” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,926. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,926
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.

Corpus desk

Index EN-isolation · isolation · English

isolation · rank #6,926 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,926
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH instructor

Nearest frequency peer: instructor (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “isolation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “isolation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

isolation vs inflation
78% similar
isolation vs isolating
78% similar
isolation vs insulation
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for isolation
PropertyValue
Headwordisolation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#6,926
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “isolation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).isolationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “instructor” (#6,925), “insects” (#6,924), “justified” (#6,928). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “isolation” is #6,926. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around isolation (IPA /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,926 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for isolation, with forms such as "ioslation", "isloation", and "isoaltion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "inflation", "isolating", "insulation", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1800. From French isolation, from isolé, placed on an island (thus away from other people). Equivalent to isolate + -ion. The correct English form is isolation, spelled I-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.
  2. 2
    The act of isolating.
  3. 3
    The state of not having diplomatic relations with other countries (either with most or all other countries, or with specified other countries).
  4. 4
    The obtaining of an element from one of its compounds, or of a compound from a mixture
  5. 5
    The separation of a patient, suffering from a contagious disease, from contact with others (compare: quarantine)
  6. 6
    A database property that determines when and how changes made in one transaction are visible to other concurrent transactions.
  7. 7
    A Freudian defense mechanism in which a person suppresses a harmful thought from developing into a train of thought.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how isolation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She lived her final year in complete isolation, not wanting to see anybody.
  2. As of 1975, diplomatic ostracism is still imposed by the Organization of American States (OAS). The inter-American community also exercises a trade embargo against Cuba. But even within this context of hemispheric isolation, Havana’s diplomacy is strikingly contradictory.

Etymology

First attested in 1800. From French isolation, from isolé, placed on an island (thus away from other people). Equivalent to isolate + -ion.

This word in other languages

aislamiento(Español)isolement(Français)Isolierung(Deutsch)isolamento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ioslation
  • isloation
  • isoaltion
  • isolaiton
  • isolasion
  • isolatino
  • isolationn
  • isolatoin
  • isolattion
  • isollation
  • isoltaion
  • issolation
  • siolation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of isolation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ioslation2isloation2isoaltion2isolaiton2isolasion1isolatino2isolationn1isolatoin2
Edit distance from "isolation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "isolation"?
"isolation" is spelled I-S-O-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/.
What does "isolation" mean?
As a noun, "isolation" means: The state of being isolated, detached, or separated; the state of being away from other people.
What words are commonly confused with "isolation"?
"isolation" is commonly confused with "inflation", "isolating", "insulation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "isolation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "isolation" is /ˌaɪsəˈleɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "isolation"?
First attested in 1800. From French isolation, from isolé, placed on an island (thus away from other people). Equivalent to isolate + -ion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "isolation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

justified#6,928inclusion#6,921machinery#6,932dimension#6,893

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

sticking13 variantsaesthetic13 variantscongrats13 variantsservants13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list