enemy alien
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of enemy alien
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
Picasso — who had not previously sought citizenship — may have been motivated by fears of an imminent Spanish-German alliance, which would have classified him as an enemy alien.
From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 2023
It is the story of how a small act of courage helped turn an "enemy alien" into an American hero.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2017
The British were very lenient towards him, only imprisoning him as an enemy alien for the duration of the war.
From Time • Feb. 8, 2016
On arrival, he was arrested, interned as an enemy alien and shipped to Douglas, to be housed in Camp P in Hutchinson Square.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2013
At the moment he was technically an "enemy alien."
From Jimgrim and Allah's Peace by Mundy, Talbot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
