as in estrangement
the loss of friendship or affection
after years of alienation from her family, she became reconciled with them when her father fell ill
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Recent Examples of alienation
According to experts who both defend and criticize the theory, parental alienation is rejected by psychiatry's diagnostic bodies, including the American Psychiatric Association, and is usually used in courtroom settings to reject claims of abuse.
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Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
Fifth Attempt Any great literature comes from a place of alienation; there’s a reason that the modern novel was invented by gay men.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
That sense of alienation and dislocation intensified after the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
—Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
And this sense of mutual alienation, of being neither here nor there, that Franny and Elliott live with suggests that the political is no longer seen from a potentially abstract place and finally bleeds into realm of the personal.
—Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for alienation
Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
Fifth Attempt Any great literature comes from a place of alienation; there’s a reason that the modern novel was invented by gay men.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
That sense of alienation and dislocation intensified after the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
—Michael W. Sonnenfeldt, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026
And this sense of mutual alienation, of being neither here nor there, that Franny and Elliott live with suggests that the political is no longer seen from a potentially abstract place and finally bleeds into realm of the personal.
—Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 17 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for alienation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alienation
estrangement
Noun
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Capitalist tactics—repetition, decontextualization, estrangement—were put in service of their literal-minded appropriations.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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Local authorities recovered his body from the Okanogan River in Washington state on Saturday, May 30, days after his family shared their belief that Matt ended his own life after a history with substance abuse and estrangement from his family.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Alienation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alienation. Accessed 3 Jun. 2026.
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