Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,733,876,126 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

alienate
(redirected from alienates)

   Also found in: Legal 0.04 sec.
al·ien·ate  (ly-nt, l--)
tr.v. al·ien·at·ed, al·ien·at·ing, al·ien·ates
1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. See Synonyms at estrange.
2. To cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or dissociate emotionally: The numbing labor tended to alienate workers.
3. To cause to be transferred; turn away: "He succeeded . . . in alienating the affections of my only ward" (Oscar Wilde).
4. Law To transfer (property or a right) to the ownership of another, especially by an act of the owner rather than by inheritance.

[Latin alinre, alint-, from Latin alinus, alien; see alien.]

alien·ator n.

alienate [ˈeɪljəˌneɪt ˈeɪlɪə-]
vb (tr)
1. to cause (a friend, sympathizer, etc.) to become indifferent, unfriendly, or hostile; estrange
2. to turn away; divert to alienate the affections of a person
3. (Law) Law to transfer the ownership of (property, title, etc.) to another person
alienator  n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.alienate - arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness; "She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious"
alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
drift apart, drift away - lose personal contact over time; "The two women, who had been roommates in college, drifted apart after they got married"
wean - detach the affections of
2.alienate - transfer property or ownership; "The will aliened the property to the heirs"
transfer - cause to change ownership; "I transferred my stock holdings to my children"
3.alienate - make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated; "the boring work alienated his employees"
impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd"

alienate
verb antagonize, anger, annoy, offend, irritate, hassle (informal), gall, repel, estrange, piss off (taboo slang), lose the affection of, disaffect The government cannot afford to alienate either group.
alienate someone from something estrange, separate, divide, divorce, divert, break off, set against, disunite, part, drive apart, make hostile, disaffect, set at odds, make unfriendly His ex-wife was determined to alienate him from his two boys.
Translations
alienate [ˈeɪlɪəneɪt] VT
1. (= offend) [+ person] → ofender; [+ sb's sympathies] → perder, enajenar(frm)
to alienate o.s. from sbalejarse or apartarse de algn
2. (Pol, Philos) → alienar, enajenar
3. (Jur) → enajenar
alienate [ˈeɪliəneɪt] vt [issue, problem] → écarter; [person] → s'aliéner
She has alienated all her friends → Elle s'est aliéné tous ses amis.
to alienate sb from sb/sth → aliéner qn de qn/qch
to alienate o.s. → s'aliéner
to alienate o.s. from sb/sth → s'aliéner de qn/qch
alienate
vt
peoplebefremden; affectionszerstören, sich (dat)verscherzen; public opiniongegen sich aufbringen; to alienate oneself from somebody/somethingsich jdm/einer Sache entfremden; Brecht set out to alienate his audienceBrecht wollte, dass sich die Zuschauer distanzieren
(Jur) property, moneyübertragen
alienate [ˈeɪlɪəneɪt] vtalienare
her behaviour has alienated her friends → il suo comportamento ha fatto allontanare gli amici


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Hanson alienates the patient's mother, who thereupon makes decisions regarding her daughter's care that could possibly add further injury.
What if the Republicans find that attacking us alienates swing voters?
If their support for true marriage alienates them from their white liberal friends, so be it.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.