Alienate Definition

ālyə-nāt, ālē-ə-

alienated, alienates, alienating

verb

alienated, alienates, alienating

To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange.

Alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions.

American Heritage

To transfer the ownership of (property) to another.

Webster's New World

To cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or dissociate emotionally.

The numbing labor tended to alienate workers.

American Heritage

To make unfriendly; estrange.

His behavior alienated his friends.

Webster's New World

To cause to be transferred; turn away.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

adjective

Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign; with from.

O alienate from God. John Milton. Paradise Lost line 4643.

Wiktionary

noun

(obsolete) A stranger; an alien.

Wiktionary

Origin of Alienate

Latin aliēnātus, perfect passive participle of aliēnō (“alienate, estrange”), from aliēnus. See alien, and confer aliene.

From Wiktionary
Latin aliēnāre aliēnāt- from Latin aliēnus alien alien

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition