alienate

alienate — verb

1. to make people who once liked, trusted, or agreed with you pull away and stop be

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to make people who once liked, trusted, or agreed with you pull away and stop being on your side.

Example

The mayor's rude reply alienated many local parents before the school meeting.

alienate + group affected by behaviour

By cutting the bus service, the council alienated older voters in the town.

alienate + voters after a public decision

Common collocations
  • alienate voters
  • alienate loyal readers
  • alienate customers
  • deeply alienate
Synonyms
  • estrange

    stronger for personal relationships, especially family or close friends

  • put off

    more informal and often less lasting

  • disaffect

    formal; common when a group loses political or social loyalty

Antonyms
  • win over

    to gain someone's support or approval

  • unite

    to bring people onto the same side

Grammar Patterns

alienate + noun (voters, readers, customers)

alienate + noun + by + behaviour or policy

Usage Note

Object is usually a group whose support matters, such as voters, readers, workers, or fans. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is about losing goodwill or loyalty, not about making someone feel outside a group.

Common Mistakes

The speech alienated against young voters.
The speech alienated young voters.
'alienate' takes the affected people as its direct object.

2. to leave someone feeling cut off from the people around them, as if they have no

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to leave someone feeling cut off from the people around them, as if they have no real place in the group.

Example

Constant teasing alienated Hana from the other girls in her class.

alienate + someone from + group

At lunch, jokes about ski holidays alienated Ben from his new team.

alienate + person in a social setting

Common collocations
  • alienate children from their parents
  • alienate students from school
  • alienate someone from the group
  • socially alienate
Synonyms
  • isolate

    can be physical as well as emotional; less focused on group belonging

  • exclude

    stresses actively keeping someone out

  • marginalize

    more formal; often used for social or political exclusion

Antonyms
  • include

    to make someone part of the group

  • welcome

    to make someone feel accepted and comfortable

Grammar Patterns

alienate + noun + from + group or place

alienate + noun + during + social situation

Usage Note

Often followed by 'from' plus a group, place, or family. The result is a feeling of not belonging; in sense 1, the main idea is that support or warmth is lost.

Common Mistakes

The accent alienated her with the rest of the class.
The accent alienated her from the rest of the class.
use 'from' for the group someone feels separated from.

Word family

  • alienated
    adjectiveC1
  • alienation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For sense 1, 'alienate' means pushing people away so they no longer feel on your side. 'Estrange' is closer to long-term damage in a personal relationship, especially in families. 'Put off' is much more informal and often describes a milder reaction, such as finding a speaker annoying. 'Disaffect' is formal and often used for groups whose loyalty matters, such as voters or party members. 'Isolate' can overlap with sense 2, but it focuses more on separation than on lost support. A rude campaign message may alienate undecided voters; years of silence may estrange two brothers; one arrogant comment may simply put off a new customer.

estrangeput off ↗disaffectisolate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • people
  • voters
  • students
  • supporters

Adverbs

Phrases

  • alienate someone from a group
  • alienate loyal supporters
  • feel alienated from society
  • risk alienating voters

Prepositions

  • alienate from

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Alienate' comes from Latin 'alienare', built on 'alienus', meaning 'belonging to another person' or 'foreign'. In earlier use, the verb could mean giving property over to someone else. From that idea of making something become 'another person's' came the later emotional sense in English: making a person feel distant, no longer supportive, or cut off from others.