alienation

UK: /ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃ^ən/

US: /ˌeɪljəˈneɪʃən, ˌeɪliə-/

US: (āl′yə nā′shən, ā′lē ə-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

al•ien•a•tion /ˌeɪlyəˈneɪʃən, ˌeɪliə-/   n. [uncountable]

1. a feeling of isolation or separation from one's surroundings.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

al•ien•a•tion  (āl′yə nā′shən, ā′lē ə-), n. 

1. the act of alienating.
2. the state of being alienated.
3. Law a transfer of the title to property by one person to another;
   conveyance.
4. the state of being withdrawn or isolated from the objective world, as through indifference or disaffection.
5. Statistics the lack of correlation in the variation of two measurable variates over a population.

• Latin aliēnātiōn- (stem of aliēnātiō), equivalent. to aliēnāt(us) (see alienate) + -iōn- -ion
• Middle English 1350–1400

al′ien•a′tive, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

alienation / ˌeɪljəˈneɪʃən ˌeɪlɪə-/ noun

1. a turning away; estrangement
2. the state of being an outsider or the feeling of being isolated, as from society
3. a state in which a person's feelings are inhibited so that eventually both the self and the external world seem unreal
4. the transfer of property, as by conveyance or will, into the ownership of another
5. the right of an owner to dispose of his or her property