isolate、separate、segregate与insulate这些动词均有“分开、分离、隔离”之意。
isolate : 侧重指完全分离、隔开，也指人或处于完全孤立的状态。
- A high wall isolated the house from the rest of the village.
一堵高墙将这栋房子与村庄的其他部分隔离开来。 - They tried to isolate (= find) the cause of the problem.
他们试图找出问题的原因。 - Virus particles were eventually isolated from the tissue.
终于将病毒粒子与组织分离开了。
separate : 指一般意义上的分开或隔开。
- The north and south of the country are separated by a mountain range.
这个国家的南北两部分被一条山脉隔开。 - You can get a special device for separating egg whites from yolks.
你可以买一种把蛋白与蛋黄分开的专用器具。 - The top and bottom sections are quite difficult to separate.
顶部和底部很难分开。
segregate : 指把一群人或物从整体或主体中分离出来并区别对待，尤指基于种族或性别原因
- a segregated school/society
实行种族隔离的学校／社会 - Blacks were segregated from whites in every area of life.
在生活中的各方各面，黑人同白人被隔离开。
insulate : 指隔开、分离，尤指用某种东西阻挡从里面逃出或从外面进入的东西。作技术用词时，专指用某种绝缘体隔断通路。
- 为安全起见，该元件作了绝缘处理。
In order to make it safe, the element is electrically insulated. - 富裕国家并不总是能够为自己备好药物以抵御新发疾病的蹂躏。
Rich countries will not always be able to insulate themselves with drugs against the ravages of new diseases.
（拓展学习：小词详解 | insulate）
