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alienator

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al⋅ien⋅ate

  [eyl-yuh-neyt, ey-lee-uh-]
Use alienator in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing.
1. to make indifferent or hostile: He has alienated his entire family.
2. to turn away; transfer or divert: to alienate funds from their intended purpose.
3. Law. to transfer or convey, as title, property, or other right, to another: to alienate lands.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L aliēnātus (ptp. of aliēnāre), equiv. to aliēn(us) alien + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
al⋅ien⋅a⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. See estrange.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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al·ien·ate   (āl'yə-nāt', ā'lē-ə-)   
tr.v.   al·ien·at·ed, al·ien·at·ing, al·ien·ates

  1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. See Synonyms at estrange.

  2. To cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or dissociate emotionally: The numbing labor tended to alienate workers.

  3. To cause to be transferred; turn away: "He succeeded . . . in alienating the affections of my only ward" (Oscar Wilde).

  4. Law To transfer (property or a right) to the ownership of another, especially by an act of the owner rather than by inheritance.


[Latin aliēnāre, aliēnāt-, from Latin aliēnus, alien; see alien.]
al'ien·a'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

alienate 
1548, "make estranged" (in feelings or affections), from L. alienatus, pp. of alienare "to make another's, estrange," from alienus "of or belonging to another person or place," from alius "(an)other" (see alias). Alienation in the sense of "transfer of ownership" is from 1388; it also meant "loss or derangement of mental faculties, insanity" (1482), hence alienist (1864, from Fr. aliéniste) "one who treats mental diseases." Alienation of affection as a U.S. legal term in divorce cases for "falling in love with someone else" is from 1861.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: alien·ate
Pronunciation: 'A-lE-&-"nAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -at·ed; -at·ing
Etymology: Latin alienare, from alienus not one's own
: to give away or sell (property or a property right) to another alienate any of his voting shares —Strickland v. Rahaim, 549 So. Second 58 (1989)> —compare DEVISE —alien·ation /"A-lE-&-'nA-sh&n, "Al-y&-/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: alien·ate
Pronunciation: 'A-lE-&-"nAt, 'Al-y&-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -at·ed; -at·ing
: to make unfriendly, hostile, or indifferent where attachment formerly existed
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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