- pronunciation:
- kwa
r
n
tin
[or]
kwa
rn
tin
- parts of speech:
- noun, transitive verb
- features:
- Word Combinations (noun, verb), Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
noun |
| definition 1: |
the enforced separation of people, animals, goods, or the like from others, so as to prevent the spread of contagious illness.
- synonyms:
- isolation
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| definition 2: |
the condition of being so separated, or the time period during which separation is imposed.
- synonyms:
- isolation
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| definition 3: |
punitive isolation enforced for political or social reasons.
a quarantine of socialist countries |
| related words: |
confinement |
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| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
quarantines, quarantining, quarantined |
| definition: |
to enforce a quarantine upon; cause to be in quarantine.
The doctor quarantined the patients with whooping cough in a separate part of the hospital.- synonyms:
- isolate
- similar words:
- confine, segregate, sequester
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| related words: |
isolate, separate |
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| derivation: |
quarantinable (adj.) |
Quarantine comes from the Italian word for "forty." In the early 1600s, "quarantine" was the forty days that a woman could remain in her husband's house after he died. In the late 1600s, a ship that was suspected of carrying disease was kept in the port for forty days. This period was also called "quarantine."