Definition

Noun 1. The action or process of causing someone to feel isolated, estranged, or unfriendly. * It refers to the act of making a person or group feel unwelcome, disconnected, or hostile. 2. A state of feeling isolated, estranged, or separated from a group, society, or activity to which one should belong. * It describes the resulting feeling of being an outsider or being disconnected. 3. (Law) The voluntary and absolute transfer of ownership and possession of property (especially real estate) from one person to another. * This is a formal, legal term for the act of selling or giving away property. 4. (Psychology/Psychiatry) A state of depersonalization or loss of identity, where one feels detached from oneself or reality.

Examples of Usage

• Sense 1 (Action of causing estrangement):
  • The manager's unfair policies led to the alienation of his entire team.
  • His constant criticism created a sense of alienation among his friends.
• Sense 2 (Feeling of estrangement):
  • She experienced deep alienation after moving to a new country where she didn't speak the language.
  • Many teenagers feel a sense of alienation from their parents.
• Sense 3 (Legal transfer):
  • The contract ensured the complete alienation of the land to the new owner.
• Sense 4 (Psychological detachment):
  • The trauma resulted in feelings of alienation from his own emotions.

Advanced Usage

• "Political alienation": A feeling of powerlessness and disconnection from the political process.
  • Voter apathy is often a sign of widespread political alienation.
• "Social alienation": The feeling of being isolated from society, its values, or its structures.
  • The novel explores the theme of social alienation in the modern city.

Variants and Related Words

• Alienate (verb): To cause someone to feel isolated or unfriendly; to transfer ownership of property.
  • His rude remarks alienated his colleagues.
  • The land was alienated to the developer.
• Alienated (adjective): Feeling estranged or isolated.
  • She felt alienated in the large, impersonal corporation.

Synonyms

• Estrangement: The state of being no longer close or friendly.
• Isolation: The process or fact of being separated from others.
• Disaffection: A state of dissatisfaction or alienation.
• Detachment: A state of being objective or aloof; emotional separation.
• (Legal) Transfer, conveyance: The legal process of transferring property.

Related Phrases

• "Sense of alienation": A common phrase to describe the feeling of being alienated.
  • Immigrants often struggle with a sense of alienation.
• "To suffer from alienation": To experience feelings of estrangement.
  • The artist suffered from alienation in a commercial society.

Related Idioms

• "To feel like an alien": This idiom captures the personal experience of alienation, meaning to feel completely out of place.
  • On my first day at the new school, I felt like an alien.

Noun

1. the action of alienating; the action of causing to become unfriendly
   • his behavior alienated the other students
2. (law) the voluntary and absolute transfer of title and possession of real property from one person to another
   • the power of alienation is an essential ingredient of ownership
3. separation resulting from hostility
4. the feeling of being alienated from other people