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alien

[ eyl-yuhn, ey-lee-uhn ]

/ ˈeɪl yən, ˈeɪ li ən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR alien ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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 (distinguished from citizen). See also resident alien, illegal alien.

a foreigner.

a person who has been estranged or excluded.

a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial (def. 2).

adjective

residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.

belonging or relating to noncitizens: seizure of alien property.

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

adverse; hostile; opposed (usually followed by to or from): ideas alien to modern thinking.

extraterrestrial (def. 1).

VIDEO FOR ALIEN

WATCH NOW: Are "Immigrant," "Ex-pat," And "Alien" Synonyms?

The words "immigrant," "expat," and "alien" all have some history and tensions behind them. Is one word better to use than the others? This man helps us figure it out.

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QUIZZES

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This windfall of words will make you rich with knowledge. Mine your memory on the words from July 27 to August 2!

Question 1 of 7

What does "scattergood" mean?

a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.

a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.

a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.

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Origin of alien

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aliēnus, equivalent to unattested alies- (ali-, base of alius “other” + -es- noun suffix) + -nus adjective suffix

SYNONYMS FOR alien

7 exotic, foreign.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR alien ON THESAURUS.COM

usage note for alien

See illegal alien.

historical usage of alien

See xenophobia.

OTHER WORDS FROM alien

non·al·ien, noun, adjectivepro·al·ien, adjective

Words nearby alien

Alicia, Alick, lick and a promise, a, alicyclic, alidade, alien, alienable, alienage, Alien and Sedition Acts, alienate, alienation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for alien

The idea that I might simply want to express my independent thoughts was alien to them.
What It’s Like to Be an Atheist in Palestine|Waleed al-Husseini, Movements.Org|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A limited number of medical patients will be able to purchase “Chunky Diesel” or “Alien Dawg” for just $100.
Colorado Weed Dispensaries Celebrate ‘Green Friday’|Abby Haglage|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They treated me like an alien,” she says, explaining that North Koreans are viciously stereotyped in South Korea.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State|Lizzie Crocker|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last but not least, the Inhumans are a genetically advanced “inhuman race” that was formed via experimentation by the alien Kree.
Inside Marvel’s Phase 3: How ‘The Avengers’ Cross Paths with Black Panther and the New Superheroes|Marlow Stern|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Or maybe we just need one of those bogus “alien invasions” that Paul Krugman is always flapping his gums about.
This One Picture of Telly Savalas Refutes All Fears That Progress Has Ended|Nick Gillespie|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An alien was not to eat thereof: it belonged especially to the covenant people.
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus|G. A. Chadwick
The members of it, almost all alien immigrants, comprise the ultra-orthodox section of the community.
The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904|Various
But of that I will not speak, being myself an alien with no particular pretensions to be desirable.
What I Saw in America|G. K. Chesterton
I feel it about certain quaint and alien societies, especially about the Japanese.
A Miscellany of Men|G. K. Chesterton
The gains of alien merchants were looked upon more unfavourably than those of English merchants.
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations|Adam Smith

British Dictionary definitions for alien

alien

/ (ˈeɪljən, ˈeɪlɪən) /

noun

a person owing allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives; foreigner

any being or thing foreign to the environment in which it now exists

(in science fiction) a being from another world, sometimes specifically an extraterrestrial

adjective

unnaturalized; foreign

having foreign allegiancealien territory

unfamiliar; strangean alien quality in a work of art

(postpositive and foll by to) repugnant or opposed (to)war is alien to his philosophy

(in science fiction) of or from another world

verb

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

Derived forms of alien

alienage (ˈeɪljənɪdʒ, ˈeɪlɪə-), noun

Word Origin for alien

C14: from Latin aliēnus foreign, from alius other

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for alien

alien

[ ā′lē-ən ]

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. Compare endemic indigenous.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.