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alien Definition

alien (ālyən, ālē 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

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 Synonyms

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

alien Law Definition

n

  1. One who is not a citizen, national, or subject of a particular country.
  2. One who is not a citizen, national, or subject of the country in which he resides.
  3. One who is born in or owes his allegiance to a foreign country.
deportable alien
An alien who may be deported because she was an inadmissible alien when she entered the United States or has violated the regulations (for example, by committing a serious crime) governing the conduct of aliens who are within the country.
illegal alien
  1. An alien who enters or remains in the United States without legal authorization or by fraud.
  2. An alien who marries an American citizen, but with no intention of living with his or her spouse as husband and wife, for the purpose of improperly entering the United States or avoiding deportation.
inadmissible alien
An alien who cannot legally enter the United States. There are many reasons why an alien may be prohibited from entry, including a criminal record or poor health.
nonresident alien
An alien who permanently resides outside the United States.
resident alien
An alien who legally established permanent residency in the United States.
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.
  • invade: Mysterious invading aliens who want to conquer our corner of the galaxy, present.
  • blast: Playing games is not only the preserve of the younger generation, with seven per cent of the sample tackling tombs and blasting aliens!

Converse of subject

  • abduct: Max doesn't believe he was abducted by aliens, I believe he was.
  • kidnap: Odd that... Jason Kane: 20th century guy, kidnaped by aliens and taken to the future where he met and married Bernice.

Adjective modifier

  • undocumented: Month undocumented aliens the risk of the needs of.
  • non-resident: The United States does not tax non-resident aliens for any interest income or dividend income derived from the United States.
  • illegal: I thought India was going to be an illegal alien.
  • undesirable: I have known Sharon for 20 years and far from being an undesirable alien who should be deported she is a model citizen.
  • invasive: Impact of man, disruption by invasive aliens, and the problems of conservation.
  • hostile: How would you describe your music to hostile aliens?

Modifies a noun

  • abduction: Look, I'm not making this up, it all fits the profile of alien abduction.
  • invader: I knew from the moment I was crushed by the alien invaders that video games would always play a part in my life.
  • invasion: Meanwhile the President of the United States has to contend with a possible alien invasion.
  • spacecraft: The alien spacecraft sits on a desolate plain on a distant planet.
  • spaceship: Level Four This is set in space, with the baddies including alien spaceships that appear to be totally made up out of tubes.
  • visitation: Mr Cowie is not the first author to offer a theory of alien visitation nor will he be the last.

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 Quotes

But set down This, set down This: were we led all that way for Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.

—Eliot,T(homas) S(tearns)

The only trulyalien planet is Earth.

—Ballard,J(ames) G(raham)

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

—Aung San Suu Kyi

Homo sum: nihil humani a me alienum puto. I am a man, I regard nothing that is human alien to me.

—Terence full name PubliusTerentius Afer

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

—Aeschylus

Browse dictionary entries near alien

  1. alidade
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  10. Ali Pasha
  1. alienable
  2. alienage
  3. alienate
  4. alienation
  5. alienation of affections
  6. alienee
  7. alienism
  8. alienist
  9. alienor
  10. alif