estrangement
Americannoun
-
the state of being alienated or separated in feeling or affection; a state of hostility or unfriendliness.
Since the summer there’s been a rift in the family over something that my daughter posted online, and I still can't figure out how this estrangement occurred over something so silly.
Diplomatic relations between the two nations were officially restored after more than five decades of estrangement.
-
the state of being separated or removed.
After years of forced estrangement, the families of people living in the vast refugee camp are finally beginning to get some news of their relatives there.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of estrangement
Explanation
Estrangement is the feeling that you don't belong, especially when you're surrounded by other people. If you've ever had to sit by yourself in a school cafeteria, you know what estrangement feels like. Right in the middle of the word estrangement is strange, and it provides a great clue about how to use the word. Estrangement happens when something — or someone — makes you feel like a stranger. It can describe a couple that's split up or the alienation of a former friend. The meaning hasn't changed much from its Latin root, extraneare, "treat as a stranger."
Vocabulary lists containing estrangement
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Hamilton
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Brave New World
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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.
Don’t miss: ‘The estrangement isn’t about politics’: My daughter hasn’t spoken to me for 4 years.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
Nica conducted 30 online interviews about how children and parents experience estrangement.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Eston’s decision led to estrangement from his brother Madison, the only one of the four surviving Jefferson-Hemings offspring to remain in the Black community.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
The pain of estrangement is real, permanent for many, and multigenerational: Grandparents lose grandchildren; siblings lose each other; aging parents lose the only people who might have cared for them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
When it’s my turn, I give Papa a goodbye kiss as we’ve gotten out of the habit of hugs since our estrangement.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
