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alien
[ ey-lee-uhn, eyl-yuhn ]
noun
- a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.
- Often Disparaging and Offensive. a resident of one country who was born in or owes allegiance to another country and has not acquired citizenship by naturalization in the country of residence ( citizen ). resident alien, illegal alien.
- a foreigner.
- a person who has been estranged or excluded.
- a plant or animal species not originating where it is found but introduced, sometimes accidentally, from its native environment elsewhere:
Imported plants, seeds, or bulbs may harbor unwanted aliens such as foreign insects or the seeds of other plants.
adjective
- unlike one's own; strange; not belonging to one:
In English class, our teacher treated all slang as alien speech.
Synonyms: exotic, nonnative, incompatible, inimical, averse, antagonistic, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar
- residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.
- belonging or relating to noncitizens:
Under certain conditions, seizure of alien property is authorized.
Their manifesto is full of ideas alien to modern thinking.
- (of a plant or animal species) not native; introduced from a different environment:
The bullfrog is native to some Canadian provinces, but is an alien species in British Columbia.
alien
/ ˈeɪljən; ˈeɪlɪən; ˈeɪljənɪdʒ; ˈeɪlɪə- /
noun
- a person owing allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives; foreigner
- any being or thing foreign to the environment in which it now exists
- (in science fiction) a being from another world, sometimes specifically an extraterrestrial
adjective
- unnaturalized; foreign
- having foreign allegiance
alien territory
- unfamiliar; strange
an alien quality in a work of art
- postpositiveand foll byto repugnant or opposed (to)
war is alien to his philosophy
- (in science fiction) of or from another world
verb
- rare.tr to transfer (property, etc) to another
alien
/ ā′lē-ən /
- Introduced to a region deliberately or accidentally by humans. Starlings, German cockroaches, and dandelions are species that are alien to North America but have become widely naturalized in the continent.
- Compare endemic
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Sensitive Note
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Derived Forms
- alienage, noun
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Other Words From
- non·al·ien noun adjective
- pro·al·ien adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of alien1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of alien1
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Example Sentences
Capaldi said the nature of the character—a time-travelling alien—meant his successor could take any form.
The idea that I might simply want to express my independent thoughts was alien to them.
A limited number of medical patients will be able to purchase “Chunky Diesel” or “Alien Dawg” for just $100.
“They treated me like an alien,” she says, explaining that North Koreans are viciously stereotyped in South Korea.
Last but not least, the Inhumans are a genetically advanced “inhuman race” that was formed via experimentation by the alien Kree.
The member banks should look upon the reserve bank not as an alien but as their own institution.
An American woman therefore who marries an alien takes the nationality of her husband.
In 1855 Congress passed an act conferring citizenship on alien women who should marry American citizens.
A deep melancholy settled down upon the mind of the wounded girl, and she felt that she was desolate and an alien in her own home.
A dependent who is an alien living in a foreign country is not debarred from receiving compensation.
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