alienate
/'eiljəneit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To cause someone to feel isolated, estranged, or emotionally disconnected: To make someone feel withdrawn or that they no longer belong in a situation or relationship.
- To arouse hostility or indifference where there was formerly affection or friendliness: To cause someone who once liked or loved you to become unfriendly or distant.
- (Law) To transfer property or ownership to another: To convey the title or interest in property to someone else.
Examples of Usage
- Verb (Emotional/Social Estrangement):
- His constant criticism began to alienate his colleagues.
- The new policy has the potential to alienate a significant portion of the voter base.
- Verb (Causing Hostility/Indifference):
- She alienated her oldest friends with her radical new opinions.
- Verb (Legal Transfer):
- The land was alienated from the family estate over a century ago.
Advanced Usage
- "to alienate someone from someone/something": To cause someone to feel separated or detached from a person, group, or idea.
- The scandal alienated him from his political party.
- Passive Voice: Often used to describe the state of being estranged.
- He felt increasingly alienated at work.
Variants and Related Words
- Alienation (noun): The state or experience of being alienated.
- Social alienation is a common theme in modern literature.
- Alienable (adjective): (Law) Capable of being transferred to the ownership of another.
- In most jurisdictions, property rights are alienable.
Synonyms
- Estrange: To cause someone to be no longer close or affectionate.
- Distance: To cause a loss of warmth or intimacy in a relationship.
- Turn away: To cause someone to stop being friendly or supportive.
- (For legal sense) Transfer, Convey: To make over the possession or legal title of property.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
(Note: "Alienate" is not typically used with particles to form standard phrasal verbs. The preposition "from" is used to indicate the source of separation.) - Alienate from: The standard construction to show what or whom someone is being separated from. - His actions alienated him from his community.
Related Idioms
(Note: There are no common idioms centered solely on the word "alienate." The concept is expressed directly by the verb.)
Verb
- make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated
- the boring work alienated his employees
- transfer property or ownership
- The will aliened the property to the heirs
- arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness
- She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious