estrange
To cause someone to be no longer close or affectionate to a loved one; to alienate from a state of intimacy.
Almost always used in the context of close, intimate relationships (family, spouses, lifelong friends) that have broken down over time or due to a specific conflict.
Word relationships
- alienate: Alienate can refer to turning away general public support or voters, whereas estrange is strictly reserved for deep, personal, and formerly intimate bonds.
- sever: Sever is a sudden, sharp act of cutting off, whereas estrange is often a slow, psychological process of becoming strangers.
- unite: Unite means to bring together into a single, cohesive unit, reversing the division of estrangement.
- reunite: Reunite specifically refers to bringing people back together after a period of separation or estrangement.
Commonly confused with
- divorce: Divorce is a formal, legal termination of a marriage, while estrange is the emotional and psychological state of being separated and hostile, which may or may not involve legal action.
Word family
- estrangement (noun): The state of being alienated or separated in affection.
- estranged (adjective): No longer close or affectionate to someone; alienated.
Collocations
- become estranged
- estrange a family
- estrange from a spouse
- permanently estrange
Example sentences
- "Years of unspoken resentment threatened to estrange the son from his aging father." A tragic family drama describing a father and son.
- "She feared that her long absences would estrange her husband completely." A classic literary description of marital decay.
Memory hook
Estrange looks and sounds like 'extra strange'. When you estrange someone, they become 'extra strange' to you—no longer a close friend, but a stranger. Estrange makes a loved one a stranger.
When not to use
Do not use for professional or political groups unless you are personifying them as a close family unit.
Fun facts
- The word 'stranger' itself comes from the exact same root. To estrange someone is quite literally to 'stranger' them.
Related words
Explore more words
estranged, alienate, alienation, drift apart, ostracize, isolate
Also appears in
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