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estranging

verb

present participle of estrange
as in alienating
to cause to change from friendly or loving to unfriendly or uncaring she estranged several of her coworkers when she let her promotion go to her head

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of estranging So, how can an organization remain current on customers' ever-changing needs and expectations without annoying or estranging them? — Chip Bell, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for estranging
  1. alienating
  2. angering
  3. infuriating
  4. outraging
  5. enraging
  6. souring
  7. severing
Verb
  • How Mayor Bass could reach Pratt voters The Bass and Raman campaigns could rely on outside spending groups and campaign surrogates — political allies who lean to the right of the candidates — to avoid alienating their core supporters.
    — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Qualley holds this all together with a tricky performance that sometimes is actually alienating.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of alienating
Verb
  • Rebecca regrets angering Matthijs (Matteo van der Grijn) after putting his daughter in the middle of a heated discussion around the possibility of Matthijs moving to London.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Two go-their-own-way Democrats bucked the party on a routine procedural vote, angering colleagues and raising a red flag about potential party divisions to come.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of angering
Verb
  • That makes Union Town more cumulatively powerful at minute 106 than at any single point, no matter how sad or harrowing or infuriating the stories and experiences are.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • But maybe that low point and the unexpected departure of Stokes and the return of Joe Root as Test captain ahead of the white-ball skipper has proved a turning point for one of the most gifted but infuriating batters of his generation.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of infuriating
Verb
  • The Hitlerite hordes are murdering and outraging the peaceful inhabitants of our country, having no mercy on women, children or old people.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • On Day 1 of the truce, and in the days since, Israel has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, in Lebanon, outraging Iran and leading to accusations the terms had been breached.
    — Justin Fishel, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of outraging
Verb
  • North Carolina and Bill Belichick got zero, no doubt enraging girlfriend Jordon Hudson.
    — Greg Cote August 2, Miami Herald, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Before the agreement was announced, Israeli forces struck in Beirut, enraging Trump, who has publicly expressed his fury with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
    — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 15 June 2026
Definition of enraging
Verb
  • Ideally for Detroit, the team will cement both players as franchise pillars without souring any relationships over contract value.
    — Hunter Patterson, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Per People, Oxenberg was candid about her role souring her relationship with the royal family.
    — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of souring
Verb
  • The controversial procedure, which involved severing nerve pathways in the brain’s frontal lobes to treat severe mental illnesses, had been developed by Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz in 1935.
    — Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Cutting the servers’ power or severing their network connection may be enough.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of severing

Browse Nearby Words

estranges
estranging
estuaries
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Cite this Entry

“Estranging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/estranging. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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