alienate

A1L1I1E1N1A1T1E1
/ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/

adjective

Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign

Similar
estrangeantagonizeisolatemarginalizedisaffectalien
Opposite
acceptbefriend
OriginMiddle English alienat(e) ← Latin aliēnātus →
Less commonScrabble 8
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Meanings

alienate1

adjectivealienate (not comparable)
  1. archaicnot comparableEstranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign

    O alienate from God.

    1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, line 4643

alienate2

nounalienate (plural alienates)

plural alienates

  1. obsoleteA stranger; an alien.

alienate3

verbalienate (third-person singular simple present alienates, present participle alienating, simple past and past participle alienated)

present singular third person alienates · participle present alienating · participle past alienated · past alienated

  1. To convey or transfer to another, as title, property, or right; to part voluntarily with ownership of.
  2. To estrange; to withdraw affections or attention from; to make indifferent or averse, where love or friendship before subsisted.

    The errors which […] alienated a loyal gentry and priesthood from the House of Stuart.

    1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC
    3 more examples

    The recollection of his former life is a dream that only the more alienates him from the realities of the present.

    1832, [Isaac Taylor], Saturday Evening. […], London: Holdsworth and Ball, →OCLC

    The Communists had considerable influence in the Labour Party in the years 1920–26 and 1935–9. Their chief importance, and that of the whole left wing of the Labour movement, was the part they played in alienating the middle classes from Socialism.

    1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn

    In April and early May, the NUR and ASLEF threatened a three-day strike. Opinion on this was divided, both within the unions and among the public. Commentators saw the strike as likely to alienate the public and unlikely to win significant changes in terms of closures and job losses.

    2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 39

    Synonyms: estrange, antagonize, isolate, marginalize

  3. To cause one to feel unable to relate.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo estrange; to withdraw affections or attention from; to make indifferent or averse, where love or friendship before subsisted.

Similar
estrangeantagonizeisolatemarginalize

antonym(s) of “estrange”

Opposite
acceptbefriend

More synonyms by meaning

verbarouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness

Similar
estrangedisaffect
Broader
changealtermodify

verbtransfer property or ownership

Similar
alien
Broader
transfer
Also see
aliendisaffectestrangemarginalizetransfer

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

alienate · adjective

  1. Latinaliēnātus
  2. Middle Englishalienat(e)“deranged; uncertain; sequestred, secluded”
  3. Englishalienate

From Middle English alienat(e) (“deranged; uncertain; sequestred, secluded”), from Latin aliēnātus, perfect passive participle of aliēnō (“to estrange, alienate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from aliēnus. By surface analysis, alien + -ate. See alien, and compare aliene.

More words from Middle English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

alienate · noun

From a substantivation of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French aliéner (“a crazed, mad man, lunatic”).

Full word history & related roots →

alienate · verb

  1. Latinalienātus
  2. Englishalienate

Either from the above adjective or directly borrowed from Latin alienātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French aliéner.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan alienar, alienar
  • alienarto convey or transfer
  • alienarto estrange
Chinese Mandarin 疏遠 /疏远
  • 疏遠 /疏远 (shūyuǎn)to estrange
Czech převést, odcizit
  • převéstto convey or transfer
  • odcizitto estrange
  • odtrhnoutto estrange
  • znepřátelit sito estrange
Danish fremmedgøre
  • fremmedgøreto estrange
Dutch vervreemden, vervreemden
  • vervreemdento convey or transfer
  • vervreemdento estrange
Esperanto fremdigi
  • fremdigito estrange
Finnish siirtää, vieraannuttaa
  • siirtääto convey or transfer
  • vieraannuttaato estrange
French aliéner, aliéner
  • aliénerto convey or transfer
  • aliénerto estrange
German entfremden, befremden
  • entfremdento convey or transfer
  • befremdento estrange
  • entfremdento estrange
Greek αποξενώνω
  • αποξενώνω (apoxenóno)to estrange
Hebrew ניכר
  • ניכר (nikér)to estrange
Italian alienare, cedere
  • alienareto convey or transfer
  • cedereto convey or transfer
  • vendereto convey or transfer
  • trasferireto convey or transfer
  • estraniarsito estrange
  • allontanarsito estrange
Japanese 疎む, 疎んじる
  • 疎む (utomu)to estrange
  • 疎んじる (utonjiru)to estrange
  • 疎外する (sogai suru)to estrange
  • 仲間外れにする (nakamahazure ni suru)to estrange
  • ハブにする (habu ni suru)to estrange
Latin aliēnō, abaliēnō
  • aliēnōto estrange
  • abaliēnōto estrange
Latvian atsavināt, atsvešināt
  • atsavinātto convey or transfer
  • atsvešinātto estrange
Māori whakarere rawa, whakakaikiri
  • whakarere rawato convey or transfer
  • whakakaikirito estrange
Norwegian fremmedgjøre
  • fremmedgjøreto convey or transfer
Norwegian Bokmål fremmedgjøre
  • fremmedgjøreto estrange
Polish alienować, alienować
  • alienowaćto convey or transfer
  • alienowaćto estrange
  • wyalienowaćto estrange
  • zalienowaćto estrange
Portuguese alienar, alienar
  • alienarto convey or transfer
  • alienarto estrange
Russian отчужда́ть, отчуди́ть
  • отчужда́ть (otčuždátʹ)to convey or transfer
  • отчуди́ть (otčudítʹ)to convey or transfer
  • отчужда́ть (otčuždátʹ)to estrange
  • отчуди́ть (otčudítʹ)to estrange
  • отвраща́ть (otvraščátʹ)to estrange
  • отврати́ть (otvratítʹ)to estrange
  • отдаля́ть (otdaljátʹ)to estrange
  • отдали́ть (otdalítʹ)to estrange
Spanish alienar, enajenar
  • alienarto convey or transfer
  • enajenarto convey or transfer
  • alienarto estrange
  • enajenarto estrange
Ukrainian відчу́жувати, відчу́жити
  • відчу́жувати (vidčúžuvaty)to convey or transfer
  • відчу́жити (vidčúžyty)to convey or transfer
  • відчу́жувати (vidčúžuvaty)to estrange
  • відчу́жити (vidčúžyty)to estrange
Cite this entry
APA

alienate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alienate

MLA

“alienate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alienate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alienate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alienate.

Source: alienate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.