as in alienation
the loss of friendship or affection
a silly quarrel that eventually resulted in a complete and lasting estrangement between the onetime friends
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Recent Examples of estrangement
What kind of mean girl would confide in me about her husband Evan’s depression and their financial struggles and her estrangement from her father?
—
Jen Wang, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2026
After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two reconciled last year.
—CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
Farnum said that Negron and Hutton reconciled last year after decades of estrangement.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two former bandmates met last year in a timely effort to exchange apologies and bury the hatchet.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Feb. 2026
For the past several years, she’s been struggling to process the sudden estrangement of an unnamed relative.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Jan. 2026
If your family’s births and weddings are public, why wouldn’t your estrangement be as well?
—Anna Russell, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
It’s primarily told in flashback from present-day, where Poppy is reluctantly reunited with Alex at his brother’s wedding in Barcelona after an estrangement.
—Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Jan. 2026
In this slow-burn story of estrangement and reconciliation, the negotiation is a familial one, the fault lines emotional rather than linguistic.
—Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Jen Wang, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2026
After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two reconciled last year.
—CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
Farnum said that Negron and Hutton reconciled last year after decades of estrangement.
—Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026
After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two former bandmates met last year in a timely effort to exchange apologies and bury the hatchet.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 2 Feb. 2026
For the past several years, she’s been struggling to process the sudden estrangement of an unnamed relative.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 Jan. 2026
If your family’s births and weddings are public, why wouldn’t your estrangement be as well?
—Anna Russell, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
It’s primarily told in flashback from present-day, where Poppy is reluctantly reunited with Alex at his brother’s wedding in Barcelona after an estrangement.
—Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Jan. 2026
In this slow-burn story of estrangement and reconciliation, the negotiation is a familial one, the fault lines emotional rather than linguistic.
—Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for estrangement
Noun
-
The alienation that message creates—particularly in combination with extreme partisanship—has the potential to reshape the way Americans interact with their neighbors, schools, employers, churches, and democratic institutions.—
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
-
While his early films were about becoming human again, about using the fiction of cinema to make someone more real, his recent work has tacked in the opposite direction—intensifying alienation to such an extent that the human disappears.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Laura reconnects with her friend Debbie (Jenny Slate), a breast cancer survivor who scored the stunning Cape Cod house in her divorce from George (Rainn Wilson).—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
-
Amy Schumer enjoyed a warm-weather vacation for her first Valentine's Day since filing for divorce from Chris Fischer.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There are still some trustbusters in the administration, especially at the FTC, which has avoided being pulled into messy lobbyist fights and White House schisms.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The fracturing of the television audience parallels the schisms in America’s political culture, with viewers and voters increasingly sheltering in partisan echo chambers.—
Karrin Vasby Anderson,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The site leaned into the idea that the excellence of American institutions had been corroded by wokeism, publishing columns and first-person accounts about parents’ disaffection with progressive private-school education and Hollywood’s discrimination against conservatives.—
Clare Malone,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
This confusion lay in the speech’s weaving, wending contradictions, and its shifts between tones, something Foster purposefully aimed for in telling the story of her life from child stardom to adult disaffection.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Public relationship milestones may arrive—engagements, breakups, or defining conversations that put love front and center.—
Christina Pérez,
Vogue,
16 Feb. 2026
-
But far from throwing chocolates at her TV like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Nicole Kidman looks just as carefree and in love with life as any romantic lead just before the third-act breakup and grand gesture portion of events.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Tied at 41 apiece in the second half, following a second-chance dunk by MU’s Nicholas Randall, the Longhorns went on a 16-6 run to gain some separation.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The launch should cover SpaceX's actual Falcon 9 rocket liftoff, its' first stage booster landing and the Dragon capsule separation from its Falcon 9 upper stage.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
While his remarks were broadly welcomed, European leaders pointed to American actions over the past year — trade pressure, demands to annex European lands, curbing support to Ukraine, to name a few — as having created a permanent rift.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The rift didn’t start in Europe.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Estrangement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/estrangement. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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