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alienate

AY-lee-uh-nayt /ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/

verbC1GRESATACTTOEFL

academicgeneral

To cause someone to feel isolated, estranged, or hostile.

Focuses on the psychological shift from friendliness to distance or hostility, often due to offensive behavior or systemic neglect.

The story behind the word. Derived from the Latin 'alienus', meaning 'belonging to another' (which also gave us the word 'alien'). To alienate someone is literally to turn them into a stranger or a foreigner to you or to a group they once belonged to.

Word relationships

estrange: Estrange is typically reserved for close personal or family relationships, while alienate can apply to broader groups, voters, or communities.
disaffect: Disaffect specifically refers to losing loyalty or support, especially toward an authority, while alienate is broader.

unite: To unite is to bring people together in agreement, whereas alienate drives them apart.
conciliate: To conciliate is to win over or placate, reversing the effects of alienation.

Commonly confused with

align: Align means to bring into cooperation or agreement, which is the opposite of alienating someone.

Word family

alienation (noun): The state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity.
alienating (adjective): Causing feelings of isolation or exclusion.

Collocations

alienate voters
alienate friends
feel alienated

Example sentences

"The politician's controversial remarks served to alienate moderate voters who might have otherwise supported his campaign." A political analysis of a candidate's strategy.
"An overly competitive environment can alienate employees, leading to high turnover rates and low morale." A discussion on workplace culture.

Memory hook

Think of turning someone into an 'alien'—making them feel like they belong on another planet. Make them an alien.

When not to use

Do not use when referring to physical relocation or legal expulsion; it is strictly psychological or social.

Fun facts

In legal terminology, 'alienation' refers to the transfer of property ownership to another person, showing how the word's root meaning of 'making something another's' persists in law.