alienist

noun

alien·​ist ˈā-lē-ə-nist 

ˈāl-yə-

plural alienists

dated

: a medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders : psychiatrist

Early forensic psychiatrists were known as alienists from about the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.

—James L. Knoll

The typical alienist is concerned with the study and treatment of mental disorders (technically called psychoses) …

—John Edward Wallace Wallin

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What is the Connection Between alienist and Alien?

Alienist looks and sounds like it should mean "someone who studies aliens," and in fact alienist and alien are related—both are ultimately derived from the Latin word alius, meaning "other." In the case of alienist, the etymological trail leads from Latin to the French noun aliéniste, which refers to a doctor who treats the mentally ill. Alienist first appeared in print in English about mid-19th century. It was preceded by the other alius descendants, alien (14th century) and alienate (used as a verb since the 15th century). Alienist is much rarer than psychiatrist these days, but at one time it was a common term.

Examples of alienist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The state appointed a three-member panel of alienists to probe his mind and perhaps save him. — Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 15 June 2025

The most expensive show produced by TNT is based on Caleb Carr’s best-selling 1994 historical thriller about a psychiatrist (or alienist, as they were once called) in Gilded Age New York who tries to catch a serial killer. — Gabe Cohn, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2018

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French aliéniste, earlier as adjective in médecin aliéniste "doctor treating the mentally ill, psychiatrist," from aliéné "mentally ill person" (noun derivative from past participle of aliéner "to transfer to another's ownership, estrange, deprive of reason," going back to Middle French) + -iste -ist entry 2 — more at alien entry 3

First Known Use

1864, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for alienist

• hygienist
• machinist
• cleanest
• greenest
• keenest
• meanest

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Medical Definition

alienist

noun

alien·​ist ˈā-lē-ə-nəst, ˈāl-yə- 

dated

: psychiatrist

Legal Definition

alienist

noun

alien·​ist ˈā-lē-ə-nist, ˈāl-yə- 

: a psychiatrist who specializes in the legal aspects of psychiatry (as determining sanity or capacity to stand trial)