alienation
ay-lee-uh-NAY-shun
/ˌeɪ.li.əˈneɪ.ʃən/
A state of estrangement or separation from oneself, one's work, or society.
In Marxist theory, alienation (Entfremdung) occurs when workers become disconnected from the products of their labor, the process of production, their human potential, and fellow workers.
The story behind the word. The root 'alienus' gave Latin the meaning of 'belonging to someone else.' In legal history, 'alienation' originally meant transferring property ownership to another person. Marx repurposed this legal sense to show how workers transfer ownership of their own life activity and labor products to capital owners, becoming foreigners to their own work.
Word relationships
- estrangement: 'Estrangement' often carries interpersonal tone, while 'alienation' frequently applies to systemic or psychological disconnection.
- disaffection: 'Disaffection' stresses emotional discontent, whereas 'alienation' stresses structural separation.
- integration: 'Integration' means feeling fully joined and engaged with a community or activity.
- belonging: 'Belonging' implies emotional attachment and connected harmony.
Commonly confused with
- isolation: Isolation means physical or social solitude, whereas alienation means emotional or existential detachment despite being surrounded by others.
Word family
- alienate (verb): To cause someone to feel isolated or estranged.
- alienated (adjective): Feeling disconnected from others or oneself.
Collocations
- social alienation
- sense of alienation
- workplace alienation
- alienation from society
Example sentences
- "Performing repetitive tasks on an assembly line leads to profound worker alienation." Modern workplace psychology and automation.
- "The worker becomes all the poorer the more wealth he produces, experiencing alienation from the very object he creates." Philosophical exploration of industrial labor. (Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844)
Memory hook
ALIEN-ation: feeling like an 'alien' in your own workplace or society. Feeling like an alien in your daily routine.
When not to use
Do not confuse with simple loneliness; alienation implies a structural disconnection caused by modern institutional or social conditions.
Fun facts
- In legal property terms, 'inalienable rights' literally means rights that cannot be transferred or alienated from you.
Related words
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