alienation

noun

alien·​ation ˌā-lē-ə-ˈnā-shən 

ˌāl-yə-

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

Synonyms

• disaffection
• disgruntlement
• estrangement
• souring

Examples of alienation in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The reports included accounts of both Jewish and Muslim students dealing with profound grief over the deaths of loved ones, concerns for their safety and feelings of alienation and academic censorship. —Jeff Winter, CNN Money, 2 May 2025

That sense of alienation, that sense of a slight remove, something bubbling under the surface—that’s as New York a story as glamour or whatever else. —Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025

With its waves of electronica, its foregrounding of style, its pendulum swings between romanticism and alienation, the movie turned out to be one of the harbingers of what many deemed the MTV aesthetic. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025

While the world is transfixed on America’s needless alienation of longtime American ally Ukraine, another American ally has come under fire from the administration. —Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English alienacioun "transference of property rights, derangement, estrangement," borrowed from Anglo-French alienaciun, alienation, borrowed from Latin aliēnātiōn-, aliēnātiō "transference of ownership, estrangement, hostility" (mentis aliēnātiō "mental disorder, insanity"), from aliēnāre "to transfer (goods, property) to another, render hostile, estrange" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at alienate

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing alienation

• self-alienation

Rhymes for alienation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

alienation

noun

alien·​ation ˌā-lē-ə-ˈnā-shən 

ˌāl-yə-ˈnā-

1

: a withdrawing or separation of a person or a person's affection from an object of past attachment

2

: a transfer of property to another

Medical Definition

alienation

noun

alien·​ation ˌā-lē-ə-ˈnā-shən, ˌāl-yə- 

: 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