isolated incident

/ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd ˈɪnsɪdənt/

a single event that is not part of a pattern

The police described the shooting as an isolated incident.

The shooting was a single event, not part of a larger pattern of violence.

Law

formal

an event that occurs alone and is not connected to other similar events

The company reported the data breach as an isolated incident.

The data breach was a single event, not part of a series of security failures.

Often used in legal, security, or corporate contexts to downplay the significance of an event.

Collocations

isolated incident of violencea single violent event not part of a patternisolated incident reporta document describing a single, unrelated event

a single, non-repeating event

a repeated sequence of actions

This phrase is often used to minimize concern, so check for bias in reporting.

In legal contexts, 'isolated incident' may imply lack of liability or pattern.

From 'isolated' (separated) + 'incident' (event), combining to describe a lone event.

Often used to reassure the public or stakeholders that an event is not part of a larger problem.

isolated

separate or alone

adjective

incident

an event or occurrence

noun

English Dictionary