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
The politics of an insular, religious dictatorship are never more than glancingly suggested.
—
Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
In that sense, the Rockies — often criticized for their insular, and routinely unsuccessful, baseball operation — were well ahead of the curve.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2025
Often family businesses are so insular and stunted and hollow.
—Caroline Frost, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2025
Belichick, always an insular coach, further withdrew during that season amid his team’s struggles, according to team sources with knowledge of the situation.
—Chad Graff, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insular
Jesse Green, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
In that sense, the Rockies — often criticized for their insular, and routinely unsuccessful, baseball operation — were well ahead of the curve.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 6 Jan. 2025
Often family businesses are so insular and stunted and hollow.
—Caroline Frost, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2025
Belichick, always an insular coach, further withdrew during that season amid his team’s struggles, according to team sources with knowledge of the situation.
—Chad Graff, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 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 12 Mar. 2025.
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