alien
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 (distinguished from citizen). : See also 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.
unlike one's own; strange; not belonging to one: In English class, our teacher treated all slang as alien speech.
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.
(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.
Origin of alien
1usage note For alien
word story For alien
Other words for alien
6 | unfamiliar, unknown, foreign |
9 | antagonistic, averse, inimical, incompatible |
11 | nonnative, exotic, nonindigenous, imported, introduced, transplanted |
Other words from alien
- non·al·ien, noun, adjective
- pro·al·ien, adjective
Words Nearby alien
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alien in a sentence
For one thing, “computer proofs may not be as alien as we think,” DeDeo said.
How Close Are Computers to Automating Mathematical Reasoning? | Stephen Ornes | August 27, 2020 | Quanta MagazineAstrobiologists now consider it one of the most likely places to search for alien life in the solar system.
These Images Expose the Dark Side of the Solar System - Issue 89: The Dark Side | Corey S. Powell | August 26, 2020 | Nautilus“We basically pretend we’re alien observers looking at our planet,” says Giada Arney, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective | Maria Temming | August 17, 2020 | Science NewsIf the aliens ever show up at Earth they won’t ask to be taken to our leader, they’ll ask for a cheek swab and a consent form.
How Life Could Continue to Evolve - Issue 88: Love & Sex | Caleb Scharf | August 12, 2020 | NautilusIn interplanetary texts, humans of all nations, races, and genders have to come together as one people in the face of alien invasions.
Science Fiction Explores the Interconnectedness Revealed by the Coronavirus Pandemic | Mayurika Chakravorty | August 9, 2020 | Singularity Hub
Capaldi said the nature of the character—a time-travelling alien—meant his successor could take any form.
Doctor Who: It’s Time For a Black, Asian, or Woman Doctor | Nico Hines | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe idea that I might simply want to express my independent thoughts was alien to them.
What It’s Like to Be an Atheist in Palestine | Waleed al-Husseini, Movements.Org | December 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA limited number of medical patients will be able to purchase “Chunky Diesel” or “alien Dawg” for just $100.
Colorado Weed Dispensaries Celebrate ‘Green Friday’ | Abby Haglage | November 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“They treated me like an alien,” she says, explaining that North Koreans are viciously stereotyped in South Korea.
How ‘Titanic ’Helped This Brave Young Woman Escape North Korea’s Totalitarian State | Lizzie Crocker | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLast but not least, the Inhumans are a genetically advanced “inhuman race” that was formed via experimentation by the alien Kree.
Inside Marvel’s Phase 3: How ‘The Avengers’ Cross Paths with Black Panther and the New Superheroes | Marlow Stern | October 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe member banks should look upon the reserve bank not as an alien but as their own institution.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur PhillipsAn American woman therefore who marries an alien takes the nationality of her husband.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesIn 1855 Congress passed an act conferring citizenship on alien women who should marry American citizens.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney BollesA 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.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. AbbottA dependent who is an alien living in a foreign country is not debarred from receiving compensation.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman | Albert Sidney Bolles
British Dictionary definitions for alien
/ (ˈeɪljən, ˈeɪlɪən) /
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
unnaturalized; foreign
having foreign allegiance: alien territory
unfamiliar; strange: an alien quality in a work of art
(postpositive and foll by to) repugnant or opposed (to): war is alien to his philosophy
(in science fiction) of or from another world
(tr) rare to transfer (property, etc) to another
Origin of alien
1Derived forms of alien
- alienage (ˈeɪljənɪdʒ, ˈeɪlɪə-), noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for 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 indigenous.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse