alienate
/ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/verb
alienate is spelled A-L-I-E-N-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, alienate means “To convey or transfer to another, as title, property, or right; to part voluntarily with ownership of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in alienate?
| Letters | 8: A-L-I-E-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,820th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is alienate?
Alienate appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,820th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce alienate?
- /ˈeɪ.li.ə.neɪt/
Alienate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-alienate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of alienate
- alienates present, singular, he/she/it
- alienating participle, present
- alienated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does alienate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To convey or transfer to another, as title, property, or right; to part voluntarily with ownership of.
- 2
To estrange; to withdraw affections or attention from; to make indifferent or averse, where love or friendship before subsisted.
- 3
To cause one to feel unable to relate.
adjective
- 1
archaicEstranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign
noun
- 1
obsoleteA stranger; an alien.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Alienate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does alienate come from?
Either from the above adjective or directly borrowed from Latin alienātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Cognate with French aliéner.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).