alienate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign
noun
  1. A stranger; an alien.
verb
  1. To convey or transfer to another, as title, property, or right; to part voluntarily with ownership of.
  2. To estrange; to withdraw affections or attention from; to make indifferent or averse, where love or friendship before subsisted.
  3. To cause one to feel unable to relate.

Pronunciation

/ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-alienate.wav

Word forms

alienate alienates alienating alienated

Etymology

From Middle English alienat(e) (“deranged; uncertain; sequestred, secluded”), from Latin aliēnātus, perfect passive participle of aliēnō (“to estrange, alienate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from aliēnus. by surface analysis, alien + -ate. See alien, and compare aliene.

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