as in parochial
not broad or open in views or opinions
an insular community that is not receptive of new ideas, especially from outsiders
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insular
Durham skillfully builds the insular world of a top Russian ballet school, and the atmosphere bristles with competition, flirtation, and intrigue.
—
April Austin, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
The insular community’s yeshivas, which rely heavily on taxpayer dollars, teach religious lessons in Yiddish and Hebrew for most of the school day, and offer little instruction in English or math.
—Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
So is White taking a superficial approach to Thailand, its traditions and its tragedies, or are his insular characters?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Piper’s preference for the local culture over her family’s insular wealth evokes Fred Hechinger’s Quinn from that same year, and both Rick and Victoria come across in different ways as stand-ins for Tanya.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insular
April Austin, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
The insular community’s yeshivas, which rely heavily on taxpayer dollars, teach religious lessons in Yiddish and Hebrew for most of the school day, and offer little instruction in English or math.
—Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
So is White taking a superficial approach to Thailand, its traditions and its tragedies, or are his insular characters?
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2025
Piper’s preference for the local culture over her family’s insular wealth evokes Fred Hechinger’s Quinn from that same year, and both Rick and Victoria come across in different ways as stand-ins for Tanya.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insular
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insular
Adjective
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And yet conceding those messy parochial disputes to powers outside the university seems to some to represent no less of a crisis.—
Nathan Heller,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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Nation-states and their parochial identities would give way to an interdependent and cosmopolitan future.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Beneath that ice, the light sensors recorded an astronomically small number of photons: an upper range of 0.04 micromoles per square meter per second, a number very close to the theoretical minimum amount of light that photosynthesis can run on.—
Asher Elbein,
WIRED,
2 Mar. 2025
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The foyer is often a small space, so a hall tree can be overbearing.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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But being able to distinguish when things are challenging versus straight-up unhealthy can keep you from spiraling into petty drama and sneaky backstabbing.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
3 Mar. 2025
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On the page, Serafina is an archetypical Williams heroine — a woman who feels the world too deeply and is therefore brutalized by its harsh truths and petty cruelties (e.g. Maggie the Cat, Blanche DuBois, Amanda Wingfield).—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Others may include family offices that offer a narrower range of services.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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Thirty narrow stairs lead to City Ballet’s bright, top floor rehearsal studio, with double ballet barres lining three walls, a floor-to-ceiling mirror, and an open ceiling with a treacherously low center beam that high jumping dancers have learned to avoid.—
Marcia Luttrell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insular.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insular. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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