alienate

To alienate someone is to make them feel isolated, estranged, or excluded—like you've built a wall between you. Imagine a child who feels alienated from their classmates because they don't share the same interests. Or perhaps a politician alienates voters with harsh rhetoric. It doesn't necessarily mean you are actively hated; it means they feel disconnected from you or from a group—and sometimes even resentful. Alienate often implies a loss of affection or support, and it can suggest that you've pushed people away. A company might accidentally alienate its customers by raising prices too high.

The word comes from the Latin "alienus," meaning "belonging to another," hinting at a sense of otherness and separation. It's more than just disagreement; it's about creating distance.

To alienate means to cause someone to feel isolated, estranged, or excluded—often resulting in a loss of affection, sympathy, or support. It goes beyond simply disagreeing with someone; it suggests a breakdown in connection and understanding, and it can shade into making someone actively opposed to you.

You might say a leader alienated their followers by ignoring their concerns, or that a new policy alienated the workers because it felt unfair. You can also use it with from: someone might be alienated from their family, or a leader's decisions might alienate the leader from their supporters. Alienation can happen gradually over time through consistent negative experiences, or suddenly due to a single event. It's often used in contexts involving relationships—personal, political, or professional.

The word has roots in legal terminology, originally referring to the transfer of property ownership to another person. In that older sense, to alienate property means to transfer it to someone else. This sense of "belonging to another" evolved into the broader meaning of estrangement and separation we use today. Think about a character in a novel who feels alienated from their family—they might feel like an outsider, unable to connect with those closest to them.

You will also frequently hear the word used to describe a state of mind: "He felt alienated from his community." This emphasizes the deep feeling of disconnection experienced by the individual. It's a powerful word that speaks to deep-seated feelings of loneliness and exclusion. So when you see or hear about alienation, think about broken connections, lost trust, and the painful experience of being set apart.