estrange

[ih-streynj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR estrange ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), es·tranged, es·trang·ing.

to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.

to remove to or keep at a distance: The necessity for traveling on business has estranged him from his family.

to divert from the original use or possessor.

Origin of estrange

1475–85; < Middle French, Old French estranger; cognate with Portuguese estranhar, Spanish estrañar, Italian straniare < Medieval Latin exstrāneāre to treat as a stranger. See strange

Related formses·trange·ment, nounes·trang·er, nounself-es·trange·ment, noun

Synonyms for estrange

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR estrange ON THESAURUS.COM

Estrange, alienate, disaffect share the sense of causing (someone) to turn away from a previously held state of affection, comradeship, or allegiance. Estrange often implies replacement of love or belonging by apathy or hostility: erstwhile lovers estranged by a misunderstanding. Alienate often calls attention to the cause of antagonism or separation: His inconsiderate behavior alienated both friends and family. Disaffect usually refers to relationships involving allegiance or loyalty rather than love or affection: disaffected workers, demoralized by ill-considered management policies.

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

Related Words for estrangement

separation, hostility, disunity, schism, alienation, disaffection, division, withholding, divorce, withdrawal, leave, split, breach, removal, parting, leaving, disassociation, antagonization

Examples from the Web for estrangement

Contemporary Examples of estrangement

Poverty, alienation, estrangement, continuously aggravated by racism, overt and institutional.
‘Why Have I Lost Control?’: Cory Booker in ’92 on Rodney King Echoes Ferguson
Cory Booker
November 26, 2014
Those views contribute to a sense of estrangement Muslims feel from the rest of British society.
It'll Take More Than Bombs to Stop ISIS
Dean Obeidallah
September 2, 2014
The estrangement, as emotional as it is physical, will be 21 years old in August.
Life as an Undocumented Immigrant
Jose Antonio Vargas
April 28, 2014
So where exactly is the line that a family member must cross for estrangement to be justified and furthermore not stigmatized?
Should You Divorce Your Family After the Holidays?
Keli Goff
January 2, 2014
Her departure from her kids when they were young was like a severing of relations, an estrangement that has not eased to this day.
‘The Distance Between Us’ by Reyna Grande
Lorenza Muñoz
September 23, 2012

Historical Examples of estrangement

As if the estrangement between them had come of any culpability of hers.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
Everything that I have heard of her prophesies this estrangement.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales
Guy De Maupassant
And this was the reason that we parted—this the sole cause of our estrangement?
Masterpieces of Mystery
Various
At all events, it led to a sort of estrangement between us,—the only one of our lives.
Barrington
Charles James Lever
Estrangement from the land of his birth set in when he left the monastery of Steyn.
Erasmus and the Age of Reformation
Johan Huizinga

British Dictionary definitions for estrangement

estrange

verb (tr)

(usually passive often foll by from) to separate and live apart from (one's spouse)he is estranged from his wife

(usually passive often foll by from) to antagonize or lose the affection of (someone previously friendly); alienate

Derived Formsestrangement, noun

Word Origin for estrange

C15: from Old French estranger, from Late Latin extrāneāre to treat as a stranger, from Latin extrāneus foreign; see strange

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

Word Origin and History for estrangement

1650s, from estrange + -ment.

estrange

late 15c., from Middle French estrangier "to alienate," from Vulgar Latin *extraneare "to treat as a stranger," from Latin extraneus "foreign" (see strange). Related: Estranged.