alienate
verb (used with object)
to make indifferent or hostile.
was alienating
-
past progressiveof alienate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
He also saw tragedy in the broader economy, convinced that industry in many other forms was alienating Americans from nature and one another.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Instead of engaging and supporting him at that difficult moment, school was alienating.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
Sam Cornetta, a barista at the Farmingville, New York, Starbucks, who joined coworkers on strike at Astor Place on Sunday, said the company was alienating LGBTQ+ workers.
From Reuters ● Jun. 26, 2023
In the document, Mr. Kaczynski condemned industrialization and argued that technology was alienating people, damaging the environment and luring people into depending on it.
From New York Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
Though Fischer was alienating some people, such as Jack and Ethel Collins, who’d been virtual grandparents to him, he did remain close to his mother, as their ongoing correspondence at the time indicates.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
