English Reference
Verb

alienate

v.
C1 Advanced US /ˈeɪɫjəˌneɪt/ UK /ˈeɪliənˌeɪt/ alien·ate UK spelling alienates

v.to make someone feel like they do not belong or are not part of a group. You might do this by being unfriendly or by making choices they strongly disagree with.

v.to cause someone to feel isolated or estranged from a group or society. Often describes the result of actions that create hostility or indifference in others.


SIMPLE

His rude behavior began to alienate his closest friends.

CONTEXTUAL

The government's new tax policy threatened to alienate the very voters who had supported them in the last election.

COMPLEX

By refusing to acknowledge the concerns of the local community, the developers risked alienating the public and losing the necessary support for their ambitious urban renewal project.

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object; often used in the passive voice ('to be alienated from').

Pitfall
alienate from his familyalienate him from his family

Alienate is transitive and requires a direct object before the prepositional phrase.


Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

From a substantivation of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French aliéner (“a crazed, mad man, lunatic”).

Etymology 3

Either from the above adjective or directly borrowed from Latin alienātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French aliéner.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin aliēnātus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated