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alien definition

alien (āl′yən, āl′ē ən)

adjective

  1. belonging to another country or people; foreign
  2. strange; not natural cruel words alien to his lips
  3. opposed or repugnant beliefs alien to one's religion
  4. of aliens

Etymology: ME & OFr < L alienus < alius, other: see else

noun

  1. a foreigner
  2. a foreign-born resident in a country who has not become a naturalized citizen
  3. an outsider
  4. in science fiction, a being in or from outer space and not native to the Earth; extraterrestrial

transitive verb

to transfer (land, property, etc.)

Etymology: ME alienen < OFr aliener < L alienare

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law alien definition - legal

alien Synonyms

alien

modif.

  1. Of foreign extraction

    exotic, strange, unknown; see foreign 1, 2.

  2. Unlike

    different, dissimilar, outlandish, opposed; see repugnant 1, unusual 2. See syn. study atforeign.


alien

n.

foreigner, stranger, nonnative, refugee, outsider, outlander, migrant, émigré, immigrant, emigrant, expatriate, displaced person, D.P., guest, visitor, newcomer, space creature, extraterrestrial, Martian, barbarian, Ishmael, outcast, settler, tenderfoot, stateless person, foreign national, migratory worker, intruder, squatter, interloper, noncitizen, man without a country, tramontane, auslander, gringo* (Spanish), gaijin* (Japanese).

Antonyms native, citizen*, local.

alien is applied to a resident who bears political allegiance to another country; foreigner, to a visitor or resident from another country, esp. one with a different language, cultural pattern, etc.; stranger, to a person from another region who is unacquainted with local people, customs, etc.; immigrant, to a person who comes to another country to settle; ?émigré, to a citizen of one country who has left it to take political refuge in another


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

alien Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • zap: It demands a great deal from the player but gives good value and is a refreshing change from zapping aliens.

Converse of subject

  • abduct: Max doesn't believe he was abducted by aliens, I believe he was.

Adjective modifier

  • undocumented: Month undocumented aliens the risk of the needs of.

Modifies a noun

  • abduction: Look, I'm not making this up, it all fits the profile of alien abduction.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: The concept of handing their cash into a bank or building society in exchange for a slip of paper may seem alien to them.

Noun used with modifier

  • enemy: There are no photographs of these " enemy aliens " .

Preposition: from

  • planet: For the secular ufologists abductions were scientific examinations by aliens from other planets, for the post-secular ufologists the answer is very different.
alien usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

alien quotes

Remember to be submissive, thou art analien, a fugitive, and in need.

-Aeschylus

There is nothing new inThird World governments seeking to justifyand perpetuate authoritarian rule by denouncing liberal democratic principles as alien.

-Aung San Suu Kyi

The only trulyalien planet is Earth.

-Ballard,J(ames) G(raham)

alien quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"alien." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/alien>

APA Style

alien. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/alien

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