ALIENATE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does alienate mean? 

• ALIENATE (verb)
  The verb ALIENATE has 3 senses:

1. arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness
2. transfer property or ownership
3. make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated

  Familiarity information: ALIENATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ALIENATE (verb)

Meaning:

Arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

alienate; disaffect; alien; estrange

Context example:

She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious

Hypernyms (to "alienate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "alienate"):

drift apart; drift away (lose personal contact over time)

wean (detach the affections of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to alienate Sue

Meaning:

Transfer property or ownership

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

alien; alienate

Context example:

The will aliened the property to the heirs

Hypernyms (to "alienate" is one way to...):

transfer (cause to change ownership)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Make withdrawn or isolated or emotionally dissociated

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

the boring work alienated his employees

Hypernyms (to "alienate" is one way to...):

affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody