insulate 
In Judaism, the special and insulated situation of the 
Jews has unavoidably impressed an exclusive bias upon 
its principles. De Quincey. 
Everything that tends to insulate the individual to 
surround him with barriers of natural respect, so that 
each man shall feel the world as his, and man shall treat 
with man as a sovereign state with a sovereign state 
tends to true union as well as greatness. 
Emerson, Misc., p. 95. 
3. In elect, and thermotics, to separate, as an 
electrified or heated body, from other bodies 
by the interposition of a non-conductor ; more 
specifically, in the case of electricity, to sep- 
arate from the earth (since an electrified body 
tends to part with its electricity to the earth). 
This is accomplished by supporting the body by means of 
silk, glass, resin, or some other non-conductor, or surround- 
ing It with such materials. See insulator. Also isolate. 
4. In chem., to free from combination with 
other substances. 
insulate (in'gu-lat), a. [< L. insulatus, insu- 
lated: see the verb.] In entom., detached 
from other parts or marks of the same kind. 
Insulate vein, a discal vein or nervure of the wing 
not connected with another. 
insulation (in-su-la'shon), n. [< insulate + 
-ion.] 1. The act of insulating or detaching, 
or the state of being detached, from other ob- 
jects. 2. In elect, and thermotics, that state 
in which the communication of electricity or 
heat to other bodies is prevented by the in- 
terposition of a non-conductor ; also, the mate- 
rial or substance which insulates. See insulate 
and. insulator. 3. The act of setting free from 
combination, as a chemical body; isolation. 
insulator (iu'gu-H-tgr), n. [< insulate + -or.] 
One who or that which insulates ; specifically, 
a substance or 
body that inter- 
rupts the commu- 
nication of elec- 
tricity or heat to 
surrounding ob- 
jects ; a non-con- 
ductor; anything 
through which an 
electee current 
will not pass. 
The figures show the 
usual forms of in- 
sulators employed 
in telegraph-lines to 
support the wire on 
the post. They are 
frequently made of 
porcelain or glass, 
Insulators. an(1 in the sh e o( 
.rf.Rlassinsulatorusedon Western Union fln inverted CUD 
lines, usually supported by an oak stalk. , , , TV" ^. ^"fP, 
Ji, double-cup insulator used on English round which the Wire 
lines: c, c' , cups of brown earthenware; is wrapped or is at- 
b, an iron stalk by means of which the in- tached by a hook de- 
SS."pn' I !oie XCdt0theCrOSS " i "" IOfthete ' e ' pending from it, or 
the like. In the case 
of electricity the commonest insulators for supports are 
glass, porcelain, and vulcanized rubber ; and for covering 
wires conveying currents, silk, cotton, gutta-percha, and 
rubber. These substances do not absolutely prevent the 
communication of electricity, but a good glass Leyden 
jar, for example, will hold a charge for months. No per- 
fect insulator for either electricity or heat is known, and 
the distinction between conductors and insulators is some- 
what arbitrary. 
insuloust (in'su-lus), a. [< LL. insulosus, full 
of islands, < L. insula, island: see insular.'] 
Abounding in islands. Bailey. 
insulset (in-suls'), a. [= Sp. Pg. It. insulso, < 
L. insulsus, unsalted, insipid, < in- priv. + sal- 
sus, salted, pp. of salere, salt: see salt 1 , sauce.] 
Dull; insipid; stupid: as, "insulse and frigid 
affectation," Milton. 
insulsityt (in-sul'si-ti), n. [< L. insulsita(t-)s, 
tastelessness, insipidity, < insulsus, unsalted, in- 
sipid: see insulse.] Dullness; insipidity; stu- 
pidity. 
To justify the councils of God and fate from the insulsi- 
ty of mortal tongues. Milton, Divorce, ii. S. 
insult (in-sulf ), v. [< F. insulter = Sp. Pg. insul- 
tar = It. insultare, < L. insultare, leap or spring at 
or upon, behave insolently toward, insult, ML. 
attack, freq. of insilire, leap at or upon,< in, on, 
at, + satire, leap : see salient, and cf . assault, 
exult, result.] I. trans. 1. To leap upon; specif- 
ically, to make a sudden, open, and bold attack 
upon ; attack in a summary manner, and with- 
out recourse to the usual forms of war. [Bare .] 
An enemy is said to insult a coast when he suddenly 
appears upon it, and debarks with an immediate purpose 
to attack. Stocqueler. 
2. To offer an indignity to; treat contemptuous- 
ly, igiiommiously, or insolently, eitherby speech 
or by action ; manifest scorn or contempt for. 
Not so Atrides : he, with wonted pride 
The sire insulted, and his gifts deny'd. 
Pope, Iliad, i. 493. 
3128 
A stranger cannot so much as go into the streets of the 
town [Damiata] that are not usually frequented by them 
without being insulted. 
J'ococke, Description of the East, I. 19. 
I shall not dare insult your wits so much 
As think this problem difficult to solve ! 
Browning, King and Book, II. 271. 
II. intrans. If. To leap or jump. 
And they know how, 
The lion being dead, even hares insult. 
Daniel, Funeral Poem. 
There shall the Spectator see some insulting with joy; 
others fretting with melancholy. B. Jonson, Discoveries. 
2. To behave with insolent triumph ; exult con- 
temptuously: with on, upon, or over. [Obso- 
lete or archaic.] 
You I afford my pity ; baser minds 
Intuit on the afflicted. 
Fletcher (and another 7), Prophetess, iv. 5. 
I insult not over his misfortunes, though he has him- 
self occasioned them. Dryden, Duke of Guise. 
What then is her reward, that out of peevishness, 
Contemns the honest passion of her lover, 
Insults upon his virtue? Shirley, Love Tricks, iv. 2. 
insult (in'sult), n. [< LL. insultus, insult, scof- 
fing, lit. a leaping upon, < L. insilire, pp. insul- 
tus, leap upon, insult : see insult, v.~\ If. The 
act of leaping on anything. 
The bull's insult at four she may sustain. 
Dryden, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, ill. 99. 
2. An assault ; a summary assault ; an attack. 
[Bare.] 
Many a rude tower and rampart there 
Bepelled the insult of the air. 
Scott, Marmion, vt 2. 
3. An affront, or a hurt inflicted upon one's 
self-respect or sensibility ; an action or utter- 
ance designed to wound one's feelings or igno- 
miniously assail one's self-respect; a manifesta- 
tion of insolence or contempt intended to pro- 
voke resentment ; an indignity. 
To refuse a present would be a deadly insult enough 
to convert the would-be donor into an inveterate and im- 
placable enemy. O'Donovan, Merv, xiv. 
And I heard sounds of insult, shame, and wrong, 
And trumpets blown for wars. 
Tennyson, Fair Women. 
4. Contemptuous treatment ; outrage. 
Yet e'en these bones from insult to protect. 
Gray, Elegy. 
To take an Insult, to submit without retaliation to 
something regarded as insulting : as, I will take no in- 
sults from you. = Syn. 3. Indignity, etc. See affront. 
insultable (in-sul'ta-bl), o. [< insult + -able.'] 
Capable of being insulted ; apt to feel insulted ; 
quick to take insult. 
Civility has not completed its work if it leave us unso- 
cial, morose, insultable. Alcott, Tablets, p. 71. 
insultancet (in-sul'tans), n. 
-ce.] Insult; insolence. 
[< insultan(t) + 
I staid our ores, and this insul tance vsede ; 
Cyclop ! thou shouldst not haue so much abusde 
Thy monstrous forces. Chapman, Odyssey, U. 
insultant (in-sul'tant), a. [< L. insultan(t-)s, 
ppr.of insultare, insult: see insult, v.~\ Inflicting 
insult; wounding honor or sensibility; insult- 
ing. [Bare.] 
Meanwhile for thy insvltant ambassage, 
Cherub, abide in chains, a spy's desert. 
Hickersteth, Yesterday, To-day, and Forever, viii. 876. 
insnltationt (in-sul-ta'shon), n. [= OF. insulta- 
tion = It. insultazione, < li'.insultaUo(n-), a leap- 
ing upon, a scoffing/ insultare, leap upon: see 
insult, v.~\ The act of insulting or treating with 
indignity ; manifestation of contempt or scorn. 
When he looks upon his enemies dead body, 'tis with a 
kind of noble heavines, not insultation. 
Sir T. Overbury, Characters, A Worthy Commander. 
The impudent insultations of the basest of the people. 
Prideaux, Euchologia, p. 185. 
insulter (in-sul'ter), . If. One who attacks. 
Her lips are conquerors, his lips obey, 
Paying what ransom the insulter wllleth. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 550. 
2. One who insults or offers an indignity. 
insulting (in-sul'ting), p. a. If. Attacking; 
injurious. 
And the flre could scarcely preuaile against the intuit- 
ing tyrannie of the cold, to warme them. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 434. 
2. Containing or inflicting insult; derogatory 
or abusive : as, insulting language. =Syn. insolent, 
Insulting (see insolent) ; abusive, blackguard, ribald. 
insultingly (in-sul'ting-li), adv. In an insult- 
ing manner ; with insolent contempt. 
insultmentt (in-sult'ment), n. [< insult + 
-ment.~\ The act of insulting; an insult. 
He on the ground, my speech of insultment ended on 
his dead body. Shak., Cymbeline, iii. 5, 145. 
insumet (in-sum'), v. 1. [< L. insumere, take, 
assume, < in, in, + sumere, take: see sumption. 
Cf. assume, consume, etc.] To take in; absorb. 
insurance 
In dressing the roots be as sparing ns possible of the 
fibres,. . . which are as it were the emulgent veins, which 
insume and convey the nourishment to the whole tree. 
Evelyn, Terra (ed. 1825), p. 25. 
insuperability (in-su"pe-ra-biri-ti), n. [< in- 
superable: see -bility.] "Tne quality of being 
insuperable. 
insuperable (in-su'pe-ra-bl), a. [< OF. insu- 
perable, insoperable = Sp. insuperable = Pg. in- 
superavel= It. insuperabile ; as in- A + superable.~\ 
Not superable; incapable of being passed over, 
overcome, or surmounted. 
Overhead up grew 
Insuperable highth of loftiest shade, 
Cedar, and pine, and fir, and branching palm. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 188. 
The difficulties of his task had been almost insuperable, 
and his performance seemed to me a real feat of magic. 
H. James, Jr., Trans. Sketches, p. 278. 
=SjTL Insurmountable, impassable, unconquerable, in- 
vincible. 
insuperableness (in-su'pe-ra-bl-nes), n. The 
character of being insuperable or insurmounta- 
ble; insuperability. 
insuperably (in-su'pe-ra-bli), adv. In an insu- 
perable manner; insurmountably; inextricably. 
Many who toil through the intricacy of complicated sys- 
tems are insuperably embarrassed with the least perplexity 
in common affairs. Johnson, Rambler, No. 180. 
insupportable (in-sn-por'ta-bl), a. [= F. in- 
supportable = Pg. insupportavel, < LL. insup- 
portabilis, not supportable, < in- priv. + *sup- 
portabilis, supportable: see supportable.] 1. 
Not supportable ; incapable of being support- 
ed or borne ; insufferable ; intolerable. 
To those that dwell under or near the Equator this 
spring would be a most pestilent and insupportable Sum- 
mer. Bentley. 
Too weak to bear 
The insupportable fatigue of thought. 
Cowper, Task, vi. 106. 
2f. Irresistible. 
That when the knight he spide, he gan advance, 
With huge force and insupportable mayne, 
And towardes him with dreadfull fury praunce. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vii. 2. 
insupportableness (in-su-por'ta-bl-nes), n. 
The quality of being insupportable ; insuffera- 
bleness ; the state of being beyond endurance. 
insupportably (in-su-por'ta-bli), adv. 1. So as 
not to be supported or endured ; intolerably. 
Who follows his desires, such tyrants serves 
As will oppress him insupportably. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, v. 1. 
2f. Irresistibly. 
When insupportably his foot advanced. 
aaton, S. A., 1. 136. 
insupposable (in-su-po'za-bl), a. [< n-3 -f 
supposable.] Not supposable; incapable of be- 
ing supposed. 
insuppressible (in-su-pres'i-bl), a. [< j'n-3 + 
suppressiblf.] Not suppressible ; incapable of 
being suppressed or removed from observation. 
insuppressibly (in-su-pres'i-bli), adv. So as 
not to be suppressed or concealed. 
insuppressive (iu-su-pres'iv), a. [< tn-3 + 
suppressive.] Incapable of being suppressed; 
insuppressible. [Bare.] 
But do not stain 
The even virtue of our enterprise, 
Nor th' insuppressive metal of our spirits. 
Shalt., J. C., 11. 1, 134. 
Man must soar ; 
An obstinate activity within, 
An insuppressive spring, will toss him up 
In spite of fortune's load. 
Young, Night Thoughts, vil. 
insurable (in-shor'a-bl), a. [< insure + -able.] 
Capable of being insured against loss, damage, 
death, and the like; proper to be insured in- 
surable Interest. See insurance, 2. 
The French law annuls the latter policies so far as they 
exceed the insurable interest which remained in the in- 
sured at the time of the subscription thereof. Walsh. 
insurance (in-shor'ans), n. [= OF. enseurance, 
assurance, < enseur'er, insure: see insure."] 1. 
The act of insuring or assuring against loss ; a 
system of business by which a company or cor- 
poration (called an insurance company, or, rare- 
ly, assurance company or society) guarantees the 
insured to a specified extent and under stipu- 
lated conditions against pecuniary loss arising 
from such contingencies as loss of or damage to 
property by fire or the efforts to extinguish fire 
(fire-insurance), or by shipwreck or disaster at 
sea (marine insurance), or by explosion, break- 
age, or other accidents to property, or the loss 
of future earnings, either through disablement 
(accident-insurance) orthrougk death (lifr-iiisur- 
ance), etc. Also called assurance. Specifically 
2. In laic, a contract by which one party, for 
an agreed consideration (which is proportioned 
