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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use alien in a sentence
And lacking answer, the man of no yesterdays had plunged on toward the ardent, alien to-morrow, and further into audacious folly.
Satan Sanderson | Hallie Erminie Rives
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.
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