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alien

Something that's alien is different or foreign. In science fiction, space aliens come from other planets. In reality, illegal aliens come from other countries.

When we talk about aliens, or things that are alien, we're talking about things and people that are different and strange to us. Like an alien from outer space. Some people are afraid of illegal aliens from other countries. Besides people, experiences can be alien. If you've never owned a cat, then having a cat is alien to you. You can also alienate people by making them feel weird, disconnected, and alone: like an alien.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: alien

1
 adjn
being or from or characteristic of another place or part of the world
a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country
2
 adj
not contained in or deriving from the essential nature of something
3
 v
transfer property or ownership
4
 v
arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: alien
1

adj being or from or characteristic of another place or part of the world

“alien customs”
Synonyms:
exotic
foreign, strange
relating to or originating in or characteristic of another place or part of the world

n a person who comes from a foreign country; someone who does not owe allegiance to your country

Synonyms:
foreigner, noncitizen, outlander
Antonyms:
citizen
a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
Types:
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au pair
a young foreigner who lives with a family in return for doing light housework
deportee, exile
a person who is expelled from home or country by authority
gringo
a Latin American (disparaging) term for foreigners (especially Americans and Englishmen)
import, importee
an imported person brought from a foreign country
metic
an alien who paid a fee to reside in an ancient Greek city
au pair girl
a foreign girl serving as an au pair
Type of:
traveler, traveller
a person who changes location

n anyone who does not belong in the environment in which they are found

Synonyms:
stranger, unknown
Antonyms:
acquaintance, friend
a person with whom you are acquainted
Types:
foreigner, outsider
someone who is excluded from or is not a member of a group
transalpine
one living on or coming from the other side of the Alps from Italy
Type of:
interloper, intruder, trespasser
someone who intrudes on the privacy or property of another without permission

n a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere

Synonyms:
extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial being
Type of:
hypothetical creature
a creature that has not been observed but is hypothesized to exist
2

adj not contained in or deriving from the essential nature of something

“an economic theory alien to the spirit of capitalism”
Synonyms:
foreign
extrinsic
not forming an essential part of a thing or arising or originating from the outside
3

v transfer property or ownership

“The will aliened the property to the heirs”
Synonyms:
alienate
Type of:
transfer
cause to change ownership
4

v arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness

“She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious”
Synonyms:
alienate, disaffect, estrange
Types:
drift apart, drift away
lose personal contact over time
wean
detach the affections of
Type of:
alter, change, modify
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
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