estrange - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

es·trange

Audio Help [i-streynj] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -tranged, -trang·ing.

1.	to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.

2.	to remove to or keep at a distance: The necessity for traveling on business has estranged him from his family.

3.	to divert from the original use or possessor.

[Origin: 1475–85; < MF, OF estranger; c. Pg estranhar, Sp estrañar, It straniare < ML exstrāneāre to treat as a stranger. See strange

]

—Related forms

es·trange·ment, noun

es·trang·er, noun

—Synonyms Estrange, alienate, disaffect share the sense of causing (someone) to turn away from a previously held state of affection, comradeship, or allegiance. Estrange often implies replacement of love or belonging by apathy or hostility: erstwhile lovers estranged by a misunderstanding. Alienate often calls attention to the cause of antagonism or separation: His inconsiderate behavior alienated both friends and family. Disaffect usually refers to relationships involving allegiance or loyalty rather than love or affection: disaffected workers, demoralized by ill-considered management policies.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
estrange

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

es·trange Audio Help (ĭ-strānj') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. es·tranged, es·trang·ing, es·trang·es

To make hostile, unsympathetic, or indifferent; alienate.
To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations.

[Middle English estraungen, from Old French estrangier, from Latin extrāneāre, to treat as a stranger, disown, from extrāneus, foreign; see strange.]

es·trange'ment n., es·trang'er n.

Synonyms: These verbs refer to disruption of a bond of love, friendship, or loyalty. Estrange and alienate are often used with reference to two persons whose harmonious relationship has been replaced by hostility or indifference: Political disagreements led to quarrels that finally estranged the two friends. His persistent antagonism alienated his wife.
Disaffect usually implies discontent, ill will, and disloyalty within the membership of a group: Colonists were disaffected by the royal governor's actions.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
estrange

1485, from M.Fr. estrangier "alienate," from L. extraneus "foreign" (see strange).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

estrange
verb
1.	remove from customary environment or associations; "years of boarding school estranged the child from her home"
2.	arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness; "She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Estrange

Es*trange"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Estranged; p. pr. & vb. n. Estranging.] [OF. estrangier to remove, F. ['e]tranger, L. extraneare to treat as a stranger, from extraneus strange. See Strange.]

1. To withdraw; to withhold; hence, reflexively, to keep at a distance; to cease to be familiar and friendly with.

We must estrange our belief from everything which is not clearly and distinctly evidenced. --Glanvill.

Had we . . . estranged ourselves from them in things indifferent. --Hooker.

2. To divert from its original use or purpose, or from its former possessor; to alienate.

They . . . have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods. --Jer. xix. 4.

3. To alienate the affections or confidence of; to turn from attachment to enmity or indifference.

I do not know, to this hour, what it is that has estranged him from me. --Pope.

He . . . had pretended to be estranged from the Whigs, and had promised to act as a spy upon them. --Macaulay.

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