alien Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
    noncitizen; foreigner; outlander.
  2. noun anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found
    unknown; stranger.
  3. noun a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere
    extraterrestrial; extraterrestrial being.
  4. verb transfer property or ownership
    alienate.
    • The will aliened the property to the heirs
  5. verb arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness
    disaffect; alienate; estrange.
    • She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious
  6. adjective satellite not contained in or deriving from the essential nature of something
    foreign.
    • an economic theory alien to the spirit of capitalism
    • the mysticism so foreign to the French mind and temper
    • jealousy is foreign to her nature
  7. adjective satellite being or from or characteristic of another place or part of the world
    exotic.
    • alien customs
    • exotic plants in a greenhouse
    • exotic cuisine

WordNet

Al"ien adjective
Etymology
OF. alien, L. alienus, fr. alius another; properly, therefore, belonging to another. See Else.
Definitions
  1. Not belonging to the same country, land, or government, or to the citizens or subjects thereof; foreign; as, alien subjects, enemies, property, shores.
  2. Wholly different in nature; foreign; adverse; inconsistent (with); incongruous; -- followed by from or sometimes by to; as, principles alien from our religion.
    An alien sound of melancholy. Wordsworth.
Al"ien noun
Definitions
  1. A foreigner; one owing allegiance, or belonging, to another country; a foreign-born resident of a country in which he does not posses the privileges of a citizen. Hence, a stranger. See Alienage.
  2. One excluded from certain privileges; one alienated or estranged; as, aliens from God's mercies.
    Aliens from the common wealth of Israel. Ephes. ii. 12.
Al"ien transitive verb
Etymology
F. aliéner, L. alienare.
Definitions
  1. To alienate; to estrange; to transfer, as property or ownership. R. "It the son alien lands." Sir M. Hale.
    The prince was totally aliened from all thoughts of . . . the marriage. Clarendon.

Webster 1913