alienate Hear it!

alienate Definition

alien·ate (ālyən āt′, ālē ən-)

transitive verb -·at′ed, -·at′·ing

  1. to transfer the ownership of (property) to another
  2. to make unfriendly; estrange his behavior alienated his friends
  3. to cause to be withdrawn or detached, as from one's society
  4. to cause a transference of (affection)

Etymology: < L alienatus, pp. of alienare < alius, other: see else

alienate Related Forms
aliena′·tor noun
alienate Synonyms

alienate

v.

estrange, turn away, set against, disaffect, distance, withdraw the affections of, antagonize, make unfriendly, come between, disunite, make inimical, separate, divide, part, wean away, make indifferent or averse, turn off*.

Antonyms unite*, reconcile, acclimate.

alienate Usage Examples

Object

  • voter: That would remove any clear choice of political programs and further alienate voters from the political process.
  • ally: That warning risked alienating foreign allies, she said.
  • viewer: Didn't he realize that too many continuity references was alienating casual viewers?
  • listener: They might be pigeonholing too narrowly, which could alienate some listeners and have an effect on the youth audience.
  • supporter: The transformation of football has deeply alienated many supporters.
  • labor: Just how central the theory of alienated labor is to the Marxist analysis of capitalism can be seen from two of Marx's propositions.

Used with why or when

  • when: Tutors or the University assume everyone knows how to access everything and students feel alienated when they don't.

Adjective complement

  • many: The 2004 draft Bill alienated many of us in the mental health sector from the process of reform.

Modifying Another Word

  • increasingly: The private motor car plays a major role in the creation of a society in which individuals are increasingly alienated from others.
  • permanently: Although children's borrowing is on the up, we are in danger of permanently alienating the mainstream UK adult audience.
  • deeply: The transformation of football has deeply alienated many supporters.
  • potentially: People are wary about any actions that could potentially alienate the public and allow activists to be easily cast as the villains.

Preposition: from

  • politics: Research shows that people feel alienated from politics: they do not believe what politicians say.
  • society: This resulted in the proletariat feeling alienated from society.
  • process: They're also viewed as an underclass, completely alienated from the political process.
  • life: Just because you go to church you're not alienated from life.
  • system: Thousands of people who are returning to learning will be excluded from access or alienated from the system.
  • reality: If not, is not watercolor painting just like computer programming in being " completely alienated from reality " ?

Browse dictionary entries near alienate

  1. alienage
  2. alienable
  3. alien
  4. alidade
  5. alicyclic
  6. Alicia
  7. Alice
  8. Alicante
  9. alibi
  10. aliasing
  1. alienation
  2. alienation of affections
  3. alienee
  4. alienism
  5. alienist
  6. alienor
  7. alif
  8. aliform
  9. Aligarh
  10. alight