alienation

American  

[eyl-yuh-ney-shuhn, ey-lee-uh-] / ˌeɪl yəˈneɪ ʃən, ˌeɪ li ə- /

noun

1. the act of alienating, or of causing someone to become indifferent or hostile.

   The advocacy group fights against prejudice and social alienation of immigrants.

2. the state of being alienated, withdrawn, or isolated from the objective world, as through indifference or disaffection.

   the group's alienation from mainstream society.

3. the act of turning away, transferring, or diverting.

   the alienation of land and resources from African peoples.

4. Law. a transfer of the title to property by one person to another; conveyance.

5. Statistics. the lack of correlation in the variation of two measurable variates over a population.

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alienation British  

/ ˌeɪljəˈneɪʃən, ˌeɪlɪə- /

noun

1. a turning away; estrangement

2. the state of being an outsider or the feeling of being isolated, as from society

3. psychiatry a state in which a person's feelings are inhibited so that eventually both the self and the external world seem unreal

4. law

   1. the transfer of property, as by conveyance or will, into the ownership of another

   2. the right of an owner to dispose of his property

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alienation Cultural  

1. A feeling of separation or isolation. In social science, alienation is associated with the problems caused by rapid social change, such as industrialization and urbanization (see Industrial Revolution), which has broken down traditional relationships among individuals and groups and the goods and services they produce.

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Discover More

Marxism holds that workers in capitalist nations are alienated because they have no claim to ownership of the products they make.

Alienation is most often associated with minorities, the poor, the unemployed, and other groups who have limited power to bring about changes in society.

Other Word Forms

• alienative adjective
• nonalienation noun
• realienation noun

Etymology

Origin of alienation

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin aliēnātiōn- (stem of aliēnātiō ), equivalent to aliēnāt ( us ) ( alienate ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

An easy way to experience alienation from your nice-smelling friends is to go a month without bathing. Alienation is a state of being cut off or separate from a person or group of people. The noun alienation describes the feeling that you're not part of a group. Your political views might cause you to feel a sense of alienation from the rest of your family, or your vegetarianism could result in alienation from your meat-eating friends. The Latin word for alien is alienus, "belonging to another." That idea of not belonging, or not fitting in, gave rise to the Latin verb alienare, "to estrange," which alienation comes from.

Example Sentences

Today, in an age of digital alienation and loneliness, Inge’s themes are freshly relevant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Stigma and alienation are unavoidable even in the most progressive quarters.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

“The result: alienation of loyal customers, mounting competitive pressures, and a biz in clear decline,” he wrote.

From Barron's • Dec. 13, 2025

But what we can do is call attention to the forms of nonviolent resistance that challenge our prevalent culture of rage and alienation.

From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025

His alienation from the press caused ongoing problems.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• disaffection
• estrangement
• indifference
• separation