alienate

[ eyl-yuh-neyt, ey-lee-uh- ]

/ ˈeɪl yəˌneɪt, ˈeɪ li ə- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alienate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), al·ien·at·ed, al·ien·at·ing.

to make indifferent or hostile: By refusing to get a job, he has alienated his entire family.

to cause to be withdrawn or isolated from the objective world: Bullying alienates already shy students from their classmates.

to turn away; transfer or divert: to alienate funds from their intended purpose.

Law. to transfer or convey, as title, property, or other right, to another: to alienate lands.

Nearby words

alidade, alien, alien and sedition acts, alienable, alienage, alienate, alienation, alienation of affections, alienee, alieni generis, alieni juris

Origin of alienate

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin aliēnātus (past participle of aliēnāre), equivalent to aliēn(us) alien + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR alienate

1 See estrange.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR alienate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

al·ien·a·tor, nounnon·al·ien·at·ing, adjectivere·al·ien·ate, verb (used with object), re·al·ien·at·ed, re·al·ien·at·ing.un·al·ien·at·ed, adjective

un·al·ien·at·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for alienated

The trouble was, he alienated Pope Pius VI and Pius VII—the latter he actually arrested.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator|J.P. O’Malley|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I knew that there was a God, but I was alienated by organized religion, especially the guilt part of it.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More|Gary Wright|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The senator has alienated many Tea Partiers and has yet to reach out to bridge the gap, Hofstra said.
Will Tea Partiers Sink Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky Senate Reelection Bid?|Ben Jacobs|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet, 2016 may be different, as the GOP becomes ever more evangelical, Southern, blue collar, and alienated.
2016 Just May Be the GOP Base’s Year|Lloyd Green|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Along the way, Munoz alienated some of her biggest allies in the reform movement.
The White House’s Woman in the Immigration Crosshairs|Eleanor Clift|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For, to live surrounded by human hats, and alienated from human heads to fit them on, is surely a great endurance.
The Uncommercial Traveller|Charles Dickens
Froude was a man who usually either carried his readers wholly with him or alienated them.
The Age of Tennyson|Hugh Walker
The one maligned by the mischievous gossip had been cast off, and alienated.
Jessamine|Marion Harland
And hard on the heels of that comes "Alienated from the life of God."
Quiet Talks about Jesus|S. D. Gordon
What seems obvious is that many graduates sympathized with his purposes but were alienated by his methods.
Woodrow Wilson and the World War|Charles Seymour

British Dictionary definitions for alienated

alienate

/ (ˈeɪljəˌneɪt, ˈeɪlɪə-) /

verb (tr)

to cause (a friend, sympathizer, etc) to become indifferent, unfriendly, or hostile; estrange

to turn away; divertto alienate the affections of a person

law to transfer the ownership of (property, title, etc) to another person

Derived Forms

alienator, noun

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