Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To cause someone to feel no longer close or friendly; to make someone feel alienated or distant from a person, group, or place where there was once affection, love, or familiarity.
   • To remove or distance someone from their customary environment, associations, or affections.

Usage

The verb "estrange" is used to describe the action of creating emotional distance or alienation. It typically involves a change from a previous state of closeness to one of indifference or hostility. It is often used in the passive voice (e.g., "to be estranged from") to describe the resulting state of the person who has been distanced.

Examples

• Verb:
  • His radical political views began to estrange him from his conservative family.
  • The bitter argument over the inheritance estranged the two sisters for decades.
  • She felt estranged from her old friends after moving to a different city and adopting a new lifestyle. (Here, "estranged" is a past participle used adjectivally, describing the state resulting from the action of the verb.)

Advanced Usage

• "to estrange oneself from": To deliberately distance oneself from someone or something.

  • He estranged himself from the corporate world to pursue a simpler life.

• "to become estranged": To enter a state of emotional distance, often gradually.

  • Over the years, they became estranged, speaking only at formal family events.

Variants and Related Words

• Estrangement (n): The state of being estranged; alienation.

  • The long estrangement between the former friends was finally resolved.

• Estranged (adj): No longer close or affectionate; alienated. Often used to describe relationships (e.g., an estranged spouse).

  • She is trying to reconnect with her estranged father.

Synonyms

• Alienate: To cause someone to feel isolated or estranged.
• Distance: To cause a loss of warmth or intimacy; to become less involved.
• Disaffect: To cause to lose affection or loyalty.

Antonyms

• Reconcile: To restore friendly relations between.
• Unite: To bring together for a common purpose or in emotion.
• Endear: To cause to be loved or liked.

Related Phrases

• Estranged from reality: Disconnected or out of touch with what is real or practical. (This is a more figurative use, often found in literary or psychological contexts.)
  • The trauma left him feeling utterly estranged from reality.

Verb

1. arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness
   • She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious
2. remove from customary environment or associations
   • years of boarding school estranged the child from her home