alien

[ ey-lee-uhn, eyl-yuhn ]

noun

1. a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.
2. Often Disparaging and Offensive. a resident of one country who was born in or owes allegiance to another country and has not acquired citizenship by naturalization in the country of residence ( citizen ). resident alien, illegal alien.
3. a foreigner.
4. a person who has been estranged or excluded.
5. a plant or animal species not originating where it is found but introduced, sometimes accidentally, from its native environment elsewhere:

   Imported plants, seeds, or bulbs may harbor unwanted aliens such as foreign insects or the seeds of other plants.

adjective

1. unlike one's own; strange; not belonging to one:

   In English class, our teacher treated all slang as alien speech.

   Synonyms: exotic, nonnative, incompatible, inimical, averse, antagonistic, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar

2. residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.
3. belonging or relating to noncitizens:

   Under certain conditions, seizure of alien property is authorized.

4. opposed; adverse; hostile (usually followed by to or from ):

   Their manifesto is full of ideas alien to modern thinking.

5. extraterrestrial ( def 1 ).
6. (of a plant or animal species) not native; introduced from a different environment:

   The bullfrog is native to some Canadian provinces, but is an alien species in British Columbia.

alien

/ ˈeɪljən; ˈeɪlɪən; ˈeɪljənɪdʒ; ˈeɪlɪə- /

noun

1. a person owing allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives; foreigner
2. any being or thing foreign to the environment in which it now exists
3. (in science fiction) a being from another world, sometimes specifically an extraterrestrial

adjective

1. unnaturalized; foreign
2. having foreign allegiance

   alien territory

3. unfamiliar; strange

   an alien quality in a work of art

4. postpositiveand foll byto repugnant or opposed (to)

   war is alien to his philosophy

5. (in science fiction) of or from another world

verb

1. rare.
   tr to transfer (property, etc) to another

alien

/ ā′lē-ən /

1. Introduced to a region deliberately or accidentally by humans. Starlings, German cockroaches, and dandelions are species that are alien to North America but have become widely naturalized in the continent.
2. Compare endemic

Sensitive Note

See illegal alien.

Derived Forms

• alienage, noun

Other Words From

• non·al·ien noun adjective
• pro·al·ien adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alien¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aliēnus “belonging to or affecting someone else; someone else's; not one's own; foreign,” equivalent to ali(us) “other” + -ēnus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of alien¹

C14: from Latin aliēnus foreign, from alius other

Example Sentences

Capaldi said the nature of the character—a time-travelling alien—meant his successor could take any form.

From The Daily Beast

The idea that I might simply want to express my independent thoughts was alien to them.

From The Daily Beast

A limited number of medical patients will be able to purchase “Chunky Diesel” or “Alien Dawg” for just $100.

From The Daily Beast

“They treated me like an alien,” she says, explaining that North Koreans are viciously stereotyped in South Korea.

From The Daily Beast

Last but not least, the Inhumans are a genetically advanced “inhuman race” that was formed via experimentation by the alien Kree.

From The Daily Beast

The member banks should look upon the reserve bank not as an alien but as their own institution.

From Project Gutenberg

An American woman therefore who marries an alien takes the nationality of her husband.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1855 Congress passed an act conferring citizenship on alien women who should marry American citizens.

From Project Gutenberg

A deep melancholy settled down upon the mind of the wounded girl, and she felt that she was desolate and an alien in her own home.

From Project Gutenberg

A dependent who is an alien living in a foreign country is not debarred from receiving compensation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• exotic
• incongruous
• unusual