alienist

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

/ ˌeɪl yə nɪst, ˌeɪ li ə- /

noun

(formerly) a doctor specializing in the treatment of mental illness.

an expert witness in a sanity trial.

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a person who is especially competent to pass critical judgments in an art, particularly one of the fine arts, or in matters of taste.

a frequent or habitual visitor to a place.

a lazy person who stays in bed long after the usual time for arising.

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Origin of alienist

1860–65; alien(ation) + -ist; compare French aliéniste in same sense

Words nearby alienist

alienee, alieni generis, alieni juris, alienia, alienism, alienist, alienor, alif, aliform, aligarh, alight

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

Example sentences from the Web for alienist

The alienist especially has demonstrated the significant influence of childhood upon adult motives and conduct.
Rural Problems of Today|Ernest R. Groves
What is needed is abnormal psychology, entirely independent of the therapeutic interests of the alienist.
Psychotherapy|Hugo Mnsterberg
"Don't talk to me as if you were an alienist trying to examine an abstruse case, Evelina," he growled, with extreme temper.
The Tinder-Box|Maria Thompson Daviess
Well, and Rodney straightened up and said, 'Is that Randolph, the alienist!'
The Real Adventure|Henry Kitchell Webster

But there was my friend Dr. Alten, alienist, who lived within a mile of here.
Astounding Stories, April, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for alienist

alienist

/ (ˈeɪljənɪst, ˈeɪlɪə-) /

noun

US a psychiatrist who specializes in the legal aspects of mental illness

obsolete a person who practises alienism

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

Medical definitions for alienist

alienist

[ āl′yə-nĭst, ā′lē-ə- ]

n.

A physician accepted by a court of law as an expert on the mental competence of principals or witnesses.