alienate
Americanverb (used with object)
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alienates,
present (3rd person singular)
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alienated,
past participle, past
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alienating
present participle
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to make indifferent or hostile.
By refusing to get a job, he has alienated his entire family.
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to cause to be withdrawn or isolated from the objective world.
Bullying alienates already shy students from their classmates.
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to turn away; transfer or divert.
to alienate funds from their intended purpose.
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Law. to transfer or convey, as title, property, or other right, to another.
to alienate lands.
verb
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to cause (a friend, sympathizer, etc) to become indifferent, unfriendly, or hostile; estrange
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to turn away; divert
to alienate the affections of a person
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law to transfer the ownership of (property, title, etc) to another person
Synonym Usage
See estrange.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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alienatesimple
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alienatessimple
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have alienatedperfect
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has alienatedperfect
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am alienatingprogressive
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are alienatingprogressive
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is alienatingprogressive
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have been alienatingperfect progressive
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has been alienatingperfect progressive
Past
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alienatedsimple
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had alienatedperfect
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was alienatingprogressive
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were alienatingprogressive
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had been alienatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alienate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin aliēnātus (past participle of aliēnāre “to transfer by sale, estrange”), equivalent to aliēn(us) “belonging to another, another's, foreign, alien ” + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you alienate people, you make them stop liking or caring about you. Show up at a conference of cat lovers with a sign around your neck that says, "I hate kittens," and you'll learn firsthand what that means. Back in the days of Latin, before the word alien came to mean little green men from outer space, it described something or someone that was foreign or different or not known: an alien custom, an alien nation. When you alienate people, you make them WISH you were an alien, or at least that they could send you to the moon.
Vocabulary lists containing alienate
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The Devil's Arithmetic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He said the nights were a way to "include them... and not alienate our current members".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Some officials believe AI can draw humanity closer to God, while others warn it could alienate individuals or coincide with biblical end times.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
His buffoonish bravado and frequent failures alienate everyone who is not completely in his camp.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Furthermore, the most recent joint intervention between the U.S. and Japan to support the sinking Japanese yen was carried out in a way that could further alienate the global investor community, Rosenberg said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Without really meaning to, I manage to alienate everyone but the endocrinologists, and even some of them are put off by a remark I made concerning blood calcium levels in hypoparathyroidism.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
If shifting the club’s priorities alienates some older members who happen to be among the club’s important donors, it would be justified, Pilch said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2024
He denies this assessment of his character, along with assertions that he alienates his fellow politicians.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024
This is getting so weird, it alienates most people who hear about it.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2024
What alienates young people is how opera can often be presented.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2024
“These are just rumors and gossip. The proverbs say ‘He who harps on a matter alienates his friend.’
From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen
The British tabloid the Daily Mail reported that Guilfoyle had alienated staff with questionable behavior.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Granted, neither Gallego nor Murphy have alienated their constituencies with these ideas, but it’s a far cry from their personas when they were first elected.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
With a few posts, they alienated the very supporters who championed them as living proof of redemption.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
She went on to be the UN rights chief, a sensitive role in which she alienated some countries, especially China, which mauled her for reporting on Beijing's alleged abuses of the country's Uyghur minority group.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
In one stroke, his misstep fractured his relations with the regents and alienated the faculty.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Instead of alienating our allies, we should collaborate with them to ensure that multinational corporations aren’t playing us off each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Their crippling codependence is alienating, as if there really were only one of them.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
But the move risks alienating customers who already may be grumbling about the complex array of ticket options when it comes time to book a flight.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
"He's navigating a very fine line between keeping his constituents happy and not angering or alienating President Trump," he told the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Copernicus’s disciple Rheticus, in the first published account of the Copernican theory, held back any reference to heliocentrism for as long as he possibly could, for fear of alienating his readers.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
