What does "abalienation" mean?

1. (transfer of property) the legal act of giving your land or belongings to another person. 2. (estrangement) the state of being separated or turned away from someone or something.

How do you use "abalienation"?

Used as both a countable and uncountable noun in legal history.

abalienation

abalien·ation

1 transfer of property (n.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Formal Technical Law

the legal act of giving your land or belongings to another person.

the formal transfer of title, land, or goods from one owner to another. This term is archaic and primarily found in historical legal documents.

Example

The old documents recorded the abalienation of the family farm to a neighbor.

Example

The parchment detailed the formal abalienation of the manor and its surrounding lands, ensuring the title passed securely to the merchant's heirs.

Usage

Used as both a countable and uncountable noun in legal history.
- acquisition
- retention
2 estrangement (n.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

the state of being separated or turned away from someone or something.

the state of being estranged or mentally separated from a person, group, or one's own senses.

Example

His long absence led to a total abalienation from his former friends.

Example

The poet described a profound abalienation of the spirit, where the individual feels entirely disconnected from the physical world.

Teacher's tip

This sense is extremely rare in modern English; learners should use 'estrangement' or 'alienation' instead.
- reconciliation
- connection

Origin

From Latin abalienatio. Equivalent to abalienate + -ion.