alienation

alien·ation

noun \ˌā-lē-ə-ˈnā-shən, ˌāl-yə-\

Definition of ALIENATION

1

: a withdrawing or separation of a person or a person's affections from an object or position of former attachment : estrangement <alienation…from the values of one's society and family — S. L. Halleck>

2

: a conveyance of property to another

Examples of ALIENATION

1. <after years of alienation from her family, she became reconciled with them when her father fell ill>

First Known Use of ALIENATION

14th century

Related to ALIENATION

Synonyms

estrangement, disaffection, disgruntlement, souring

Antonyms

reconcilement, reconciliation

Related Words

antagonism, embitterment, envenoming; breach, breakup, divorce, rift, rupture, schism, separation, split; animosity, antagonism, antipathy, bitterness, hostility, jaundice, rancor; aggravation, furor, fury, incensing, indignation, infuriation, ire, outrage, rage, spleen, wrath; disenchantment, disillusionment

Near Antonyms

endearment, ingratiation; appeasement, conciliation, mollification, pacification, propitiation

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with ALIENATION

abbreviation, abomination, acceleration, accentuation, accommodation, accreditation, acculturation, accumulation, actualization, adjudication, administration, adulteration, affiliation, agglomeration, alleviation, alliteration, amalgamation, amelioration, amplification, anglicization, annihilation, annunciation, anticipation, appreciation, appropriation, approximation, argumentation, articulation, asphyxiation, assassination, asseveration, assimilation, association, atomization, attenuation, authentication, authorization, autoxidation, balkanization, bastardization, beautification, bowdlerization, calcification, canonization, capitulation, centralization, certification, cicatrization, civilization, clarification, classification, coagulation, codification, coeducation, cogeneration, cohabitation, collaboration, colonization, colorization, commemoration, commiseration, communication, concatenation, conciliation, confabulation, confederation, configuration, conglomeration, congratulation, consideration, consolidation, contamination, continuation, cooperation, coordination, corroboration, cross-pollination, crystallization, deactivation, debilitation, decapitation, deceleration, deconsecration, de-escalation, defenestration, defibrillation, deforestation, defragmentation, degeneration, deification, deliberation, delineation, demonization, denomination, denunciation, depopulation, depreciation, deracination, deregulation, desegregation, despoliation, determination, devaluation, digitization, disapprobation, discoloration, discrimination, disembarkation, disinclination, disinformation, disintegration, Disneyfication, dissemination, dissimulation, dissociation, documentation, domestication, dramatization, echolocation, edification, ejaculation, elaboration, elimination, elucidation, emaciation, emancipation, emasculation, enumeration, enunciation, equalization, equivocation, eradication, evacuation, evaluation, evaporation, evisceration, exaggeration, examination, exasperation, exhilaration, exoneration, expropriation, extenuation, extermination, extrapolation, facilitation, falsification, felicitation, feminization, fertilization, feudalization, finalization, Finlandization, formalization, fortification, fossilization, gasification, gentrification, gesticulation, globalization, glorification, gratification, habituation, hallucination, harmonization, humanization, humiliation, hyperinflation, idolization, illumination, imagination, impersonation, implementation, improvisation, inauguration, incarceration, incineration, incorporation, incrimination, indoctrination, inebriation, infatuation, initiation, inoculation, insemination, insinuation, instrumentation, internalization, interpretation, interrelation, interrogation, intimidation, intoxication, invagination, invalidation, investigation, invigoration, irradiation, itemization, justification, legalization, liberalization, magnetization, magnification, maladaptation, manifestation, manipulation, matriculation, maximization, mechanization, memorization, miscegenation, mobilization, modernization, modification, mortification, multiplication, mystification, nationalization, naturalization, negotiation, normalization, notification, novelization, nullification, obliteration, organization, origination, orientation, ornamentation, ossification, oxygenation, pacification, paralyzation, participation, pasteurization, perambulation, peregrination, perpetuation, personalization, petrification, polarization, pontification, precipitation, predestination, prefabrication, prefiguration, premeditation, preoccupation, preordination, preregistration, prettification, privatization, procrastination, prognostication, proliferation, propitiation, purification, qualification, ramification, randomization, ratification, realization, reciprocation, recombination, recommendation, recrimination, recuperation, redecoration, reduplication, reforestation, refrigeration, regeneration, regimentation, regurgitation, reification, reincarnation, reintegration, reiteration, rejuvenation, remuneration, renunciation, repatriation, representation, republication, repudiation, retaliation, reverberation, sanctification, scarification, sedimentation, sensitization, Serbo-Croatian, signification, simplification, socialization, solicitation, sophistication, specialization, specification, stabilization, standardization, sterilization, stratification, subordination, subpopulation, supplementation, synchronization, systemization, teleportation, tergiversation, transfiguration, transliteration, transvaluation, triangulation, uglification, unification, unionization, urbanization, verification, versification, victimization, vilification, vituperation, vocalization, vulgarization, westernization, x-radiation

alien·ation

noun \ˌā-lē-ə-ˈnā-shən, ˌāl-yə-\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of ALIENATION

1

: a withdrawing or separation of a person or a person's affections from an object or position of former attachment <alienation…from the values of one's society and family—S. L. Halleck>

2

: mental alienation

alienation

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

In the social sciences context, the state of feeling estranged or separated from one's milieu, work, products of work, or self. The concept appears implicitly or explicitly in the works of Émile Durkheim, Ferdinand Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel but is most famously associated with Karl Marx, who spoke of workers being alienated from their work and its products under capitalism. In other contexts the term alienation, like anomie, can suggest a sense of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, or cultural- or self-estrangement brought on by the lack of fit between individual needs or expectations and the social order.