† alienateadj.n.
Obsolete.
A. adj.
1. Of a person, the mind, etc.: deranged. Cf. alienated adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > affected with
woodc725
woodsekc890
giddyc1000
out of (by, from, of) wit or one's witc1000
witlessc1000
brainsickOE
amadc1225
lunaticc1290
madc1330
sickc1340
brain-wooda1375
out of one's minda1387
frenetica1398
fonda1400
formada1400
unwisea1400
brainc1400
unwholec1400
alienate?a1425
brainless1434
distract of one's wits1470
madfula1475
furious1475
distract1481
fro oneself1483
beside oneself1490
beside one's patience1490
dementa1500
red-wood?1507
extraught1509
misminded1509
peevish1523
bedlam-ripe1525
straughta1529
fanatic1533
bedlama1535
daft1540
unsounda1547
stark raving (also staring) mad1548
distraughted1572
insane1575
acrazeda1577
past oneself1576
frenzy1577
poll-mad1577
out of one's senses1580
maddeda1586
frenetical1588
distempered1593
distraught1597
crazed1599
diswitted1599
idle-headed1599
lymphatical1603
extract1608
madling1608
distracteda1616
informala1616
far gone1616
crazy1617
March mada1625
non compos mentis1628
brain-crazed1632
demented1632
crack-brained1634
arreptitiousa1641
dementate1640
dementated1650
brain-crackeda1652
insaniated1652
exsensed1654
bedlam-witteda1657
lymphatic1656
mad-like1679
dementative1685
non compos1699
beside one's gravity1716
hyte1720
lymphated1727
out of one's head1733
maddened1735
swivel-eyed1758
wrong1765
brainsickly1770
fatuous1773
derangedc1790
alienated1793
shake-brained1793
crack-headed1796
flighty1802
wowf1802
doitrified1808
phrenesiac1814
bedlamite1815
mad-braineda1822
fey1823
bedlamitish1824
skire1825
beside one's wits1827
as mad as a hatter1829
crazied1842
off one's head1842
bemadded1850
loco1852
off one's nut1858
off his chump1864
unsane1867
meshuga1868
non-sane1868
loony1872
bee-headed1879
off one's onion1881
off one's base1882
(to go) off one's dot1883
locoed1885
screwy1887
off one's rocker1890
balmy or barmy on (or in) the crumpet1891
meshuggener1892
nutty1892
buggy1893
bughouse1894
off one's pannikin1894
ratty1895
off one's trolley1896
batchy1898
twisted1900
batsc1901
batty1903
dippy1903
bugs1904
dingy1904
up the (also a) pole1904
nut1906
nuts1908
nutty as a fruitcake1911
bugged1920
potty1920
cuckoo1923
nutsy1923
puggled1923
blah1924
détraqué1925
doolally1925
off one's rocket1925
puggle1925
mental1927
phooey1927
crackers1928
squirrelly1928
over the edge1929
round the bend1929
lakes1934
ding-a-ling1935
wacky1935
screwball1936
dingbats1937
Asiatic1938
parlatic1941
troppo1941
up the creek1941
screwed-up1943
bonkers1945
psychological1952
out to lunch1955
starkers1956
off (one's) squiff1960
round the twist1960
yampy1963
out of (also off) one's bird1966
out of one's skull1967
whacked out1969
batshit1971
woo-woo1971
nutso1973
out of (one's) gourd1977
wacko1977
off one's meds1986
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > [adjective] > insanity or madness > of the mind
alienate?a1425
sicklya1771
stricken1796
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 68v For þai ar alienate [L. alienantur].
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 1653 Fer from hym silf he was so alienat.
?a1475 (?a1425) in tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1882) VIII. App. 467 (MED) The frere..feynede hym as alienate of mynde & distract.
1545 T. Paynell tr. St. Bernard Compend. Treat. Well Liuynge xxv. f. xcxix Loth ouercummed withe wyne, laye with his owne doughter, yet he felte no synne, for his mynde and vnderstanding was alienate [L. alienatus].
2. Of a person, the mind, etc.: that is alienated or estranged; withdrawn or turned away in feeling or affection from someone or something. Chiefly predicative.In quot. a1500: separate or removed.
ΚΠ
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 70 (MED) Loue wol be fre & alienat from all worldly affeccion.
1586 J. Norden Mirror for Multitude ii. 64 By these markes is he dissiphered and knowen to be another Nabucadnezer, whose heart is alienate from the true God.
c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 11 The hairtis of peopill ar alienat from the laughfull Prince.
1654 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. Bentivoglio Compl. Hist. Warrs Flanders ii. ii. 202 They could not appear more alienate from the one, nor more affectionate to the other.
1714 J. Swift Publick Spirit Whigs 27 They are..ready to gratifie their Ambition and Revenge by all desperate Methods; wholly alienate from Truth, Law, Religion, [etc.].
1793 W. Preston Rosmunda ii. vi, in Poet. Wks. II. 329 Long have I mourn'd, that while my love possess'd Thy perfect form, thy soul was alienate.
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision II. xix. 113 I was a soul in misery, alienate From God.
1881 G. A. Jackson Fathers of Third Cent. 143 We are subject only to the Most High,..demons having power over us only as we are alienate from him.
3. That is foreign in nature or character; alien, strange, unfamiliar; different from.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > [adjective] > coming or operating from outside or extraneous
strangec1386
alienate1533
extern1533
unnative1568
extrinsical1578
implanted1595
adventitious1603
intervenient1605
acquired1609
extrinsic1613
foreign1621
extraneous1638
adnate1642
acquisititiousa1652
external1651
adventual1656
forinsecal1658
adventine1755
extranate1856
the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > [adjective] > distinct
distincta1382
alienc1384
sundrya1393
alienate1533
several1533
particular1547
severable1548
different?a1560
distinguished1609
remote1615
discriminate1626
incoincident1636
discriminated1673
allogenous1842
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > [adjective]
uncouthc1374
strangec1380
alienate1533
unconformable1593
disconformablec1600
inconformable1612
anomalous1646
unmodelled1650
disform1656
inconform1659
unattuned1792
unassimilating1796
anomalistic1802
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > [adjective] > directly opposed
repugnantc1443
oppugnanta1513
contrariant1530
alienate1533
alien1563
incidenta1575
contradicting1610
pugnant1645
obverse1840
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xiii. sig. I.v Sekest thou thinges moche more alienate, straunger & farder of?
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 24v The brestbone..is farre otherwise in foure footed beastes, and much alienate from the naturall construction of the same in mankynd.
1599 A. M. tr. O. Gaebelkhover Bk. Physicke 21/1 When as the woman, is gravide with any alienat excrescence.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta iii. 57 They are..vnwholsome, and alienate from the taste of wholsome meates.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. viii. 6 Nothing was more alienate from the comprehension of Sciences then Poetry.
1787 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 XXI. 534 A law more unconstitutional than this, more alienate from every principle of public polity, or more repugnant to every feeling of justice, never disgraced the records of the kingdom.
4. Botany. = alienated adj. 4. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
ΚΠ
1831 R. Hooper Lexicon Medicum (ed. 6) 76/2 Alienatus, alienate [1825 alienated]. A leaf is so termed when the first leaves give way to others totally different from them.
B. n.
In early use: an alien, a stranger. In later use: a person who is estranged from or at variance with a community or group.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > separation or isolation > [noun] > one who is separated or isolated > stranger or outsider
fremdc950
guestc950
althedyOE
allophyleOE
uncoutha1250
strangea1325
alienc1384
barbarc1384
barbarync1384
strangerc1385
barbaric1388
foreigna1399
outland?a1400
farandman14..
out-comelingc1400
foreigner1422
alienar1473
alienate1497
estrangec1503
new face?a1513
barbarianc1550
fremman1568
frenne1579
estranger1586
inmatea1600
outlier1606
outcomer1607
externc1610
exoteric1697
outner1721
outsider1800
unco1800
inconnu1807
outrigger1850
offcome1859
ringer1896
offcomer1898
shenzi1910
out-grouper1938
outworlder1948
1497 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 425 In amerciament of the court for the blewing of meil and selling til alienatis.
a1555 H. Latimer 27 Serm. (1562) ii. f. 33 And kepe vs from inuasions of alienates and straungers.
1566 T. Stapleton Returne Vntruthes Jewelles Replie iv. 157 Whosoeuer eateth the lambe without this house, he is an alienat.
1596 T. Morton Salomon i. 10 Most men do thinke it not to be an heresie, but a false religion, and the maintainers & professours of it, to be alienates from the common-wealth of Israel.
1615 T. Hastler Antidote against Plague 14 Enemies to God, and alienates from the house of Israel.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
alienatev.
/ˈeɪlɪəneɪt/, U.S. /ˈeɪliəˌneɪt/, /ˈeɪljəˌneɪt/ 1. transitive. Chiefly Law. To transfer or surrender ownership of (property rights); to make over to another owner. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > transfer of property > transfer [verb (transitive)]
assign1297
bequeathc1305
alienc1400
analy1405
releasea1425
alienate?a1475
to make over1478
convey1495
transport1523
to put over1542
dispone?1548
design1573
pass1587
to set over1594
transfer1598
abalienate1646
attorn1649
demise1670
enure1736
to will away1773
divest1790
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 465 (MED) Þe vse of goodes is alienate [L. est alienatus] from yow as hit is from theyme [sc. prisoners].
a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xxii. sig. r.vii Other have been glad to alienat the patronage of certayne churches.
1577 W. Gace tr. N. Hemmingsen Learned Comm. Epist. Iames the Apostle v. f. 78 Lending..doth not alienate a thing into the proper possession of the receyuer.
1627 P. Hay Advt. Subj. Scotl. 83 Themistocles, and Cato the Censor, did take backe..what-so-ever had beene alienate of the Publicke Domaine.
1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. viii. §6. 130 The Lord may sell his Servant, or alienate him by Testament.
1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. i. x. 157 If the property of these things be alienate from the Locator, the interest of the Conductor ceaseth.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 15 Never entertain'd a Thought..of alienating any Part of these Revenues.
1711 M. Le Vassor Acct. Present State Germany 11 He..would sell new Immunities to the several Towns, and Mortgage or Alienate the Revenues of the Empire for his own particular Profit.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. ii. 469 The vassal could not alienate without the consent of his superior.
1833 H. C. Todd Notes on Canada (1835) 86 When a seigniory is sold, one fifth, called the King's quints, is alienated to the crown.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 647 The King was not at perfect liberty to alienate any part of the estates of the Crown.
1909 S. Afr. Act in Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law (1910) 4 (Suppl.) 38 It shall not be lawful to alienate any land in Basutoland or any land forming part of the native reserves.
1952 Michigan Law Rev. 50 718 One tenant by the entirety is disabled by law from alienating his interest without the concurrence of his co-tenant.
2003 J. Baker Oxf. Hist. Laws Eng. VI. xxxvi. 701 If the wife alienated a different manor..the manors would immediately remain to the next remainderman.
2. transitive. To make (the mind, feelings, etc.) averse or hostile to a person or thing; to cause (a person) to feel estranged, hostile, or unsympathetic. Frequently with from.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > hatred > quarrel or falling out > quarrel or fall at variance with [verb (transitive)]
alienc1350
strange1460
estrangea1513
alienate1531
avert1532
stranger1608
to set off1633
disaffect1641
disoblige1647
unfriend1659
rupture1815
split1835
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. v. sig. P.ij He so dyd alienate from hym the hartis of his most wise and assured adherentis.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. vi. f. 12 And alienat not thy mynde awaye from us.
1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. xiii. §7. 432 Iotham..sought by his best perswasions to alienate the Sechemites.
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber xii. 228 Who had so visibly alienated the Hearts of his Theatrical Subjects.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 51 Such projects have alienated our colonies from the mother country.
1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 379 In the perfect foreknowledge that they would confirm the disbelieving, alienate the unsteadfast.
1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. viii. viii. 441 If Matilda's pride had not alienated Henry of Winchester.
1925 Weekly Westm. 10 Jan. 320/2 The outrages which have been associated with Fascism have gradually alienated much of the support which it won two years ago.
1971 M. McLuhan Let. 15 Oct. (1987) 446 Cera saw that the tube was alienating the young from a generation of elders.
1986 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 19 Sept. 4/5 The ABC's manic obsession with networking is shortsighted and will only alienate its listeners.
2004 C. Tyler in Slightly Foxed Spring 72 It was the Church's squeamishness about sex that alienated me.
3. transitive. To turn away, divert; to remove, separate, or isolate (a person or thing) from another.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > remove or take away
ateec885
withbreidec890
animOE
overbearOE
to do awayOE
flitc1175
reavec1175
takec1175
to have away?a1300
to draw awayc1300
weve13..
to wend awaya1325
withdrawa1325
remuec1325
to carry away1363
to take away1372
waive1377
to long awaya1382
oftakec1390
to draw offa1398
to do froa1400
forflitc1420
amove?a1425
to carry out?a1425
surtrayc1440
surtretec1440
twistc1440
abstract1449
ostea1450
remove1459
ablatea1475
araisea1475
redd1479
dismove1480
diminish?1504
convey1530
alienate1534
retire1536
dimove1540
reversec1540
subtractc1540
submove1542
sublate1548
pare1549
to pull in1549
exempt1553
to shift off1567
retract?1570
renversec1586
aufer1587
to lay offa1593
rear1596
retrench1596
unhearse1596
exemea1600
remote1600
to set off1600
subduct1614
rob1627
extraneize1653
to bring off1656
to pull back1656
draft1742
extract1804
reef1901
society > society and the community > social relations > lack of social communication or relations > separation or isolation > separate or isolate [verb (transitive)]
shedOE
depart1297
externec1420
deforce1430
sequesterc1430
enstrange1483
estrange1523
separate1526
alienate1534
segregate1542
foreign1598
excommunicate1602
stranger1608
dissociate1623
discorporate1695
disincorporate1701
atomize1895
twine1895
ghetto1936
1534 J. Fewterer tr. U. Pinder Myrrour Christes Passion f. xxv O meruelous deth & passion of Christe, whiche doeth allienate & seclude the remembrer from dethe spirituall & also eternall.
1596 P. Lowe Easie Method to cure Spanish Sicknes i. xxi. sig. D4 It healeth perfectly,..being no neede to keepe the lodging, nor to alienat the sicke from any affaires.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. ii. iv. 355 If such voluntary tasks,..will not..alienate their imaginations.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 414. ¶4 To alienate so much Ground from Pasturage.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 148. ⁋11 Who alienates from him the assistance of his children.
1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad ix. 127 This is done by alienating capital from its natural channels.
1876 tr. P. Lanfrey Hist. Napoleon I III. ii. 68 King Louis endeavoured to alienate the misery that he saw around him.
1957 G. Knox Crit. Moments 106 We must not overintellectualize art, alienate it from context.
2008 Wire Feb. 66/4 An FX matrix which alienated sound from its origins.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > change [verb (transitive)]
wharvec897
wendOE
i-wendeOE
awendOE
aturn?c1225
biwrixle?c1225
changec1225
turnc1225
shifta1325
vary1340
inchangea1382
strange1390
altera1398
alterate?a1425
permute?a1425
difference1481
renewc1515
alienate1534
wrixlec1540
to chop and change1557
variate1566
palter1587
permutate1598
immute1613
unmake1616
unsame1632
chop1644
veer1647
variegatea1690
refract1700
mutabilatea1704
commute1825
stranger1863
switch1919
1534 J. Fewterer tr. U. Pinder Myrrour Christes Passion f. ii O the wonderfull passyon of Christe, the whiche doth alyenate and chaunge the herte and mynde of hym that hath remembraunce and compassion of it.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2039/2 Neyther fauour of his Prince..nor any other worldly respect could alienate or chaunge hys purpose.
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence viii. 262 Also written Heughe, and alienated among strangers vnto Hugo.
1664 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Wks. civ. 729 This doth not in the least change, vitiate, alter, or alienate the Nature of the former Moisture.
Phrases
to alienate (a person's) affection(s).
a. In general sense: (frequently with from) to cause a person to withdraw or remove his or her affection from someone.
ΚΠ
1572 J. Leslie Table out of Treat. Treasons sig. *4iv.v To alienat peoples hartes and affections from the rightfull heire.
1684 T. Otway Atheist iv. 42 I'll swinge her the stoutlier, for alienating his Affections from his natural Father.
1755 J. Kidgell Card I. xxviii. 303 Miss Evelyn, notwithstanding the advantageous Offers which have been made her, has refused them all for his Sake only; it seems to me next to an Impossibility to alienate her Affection.
1857 B. J. Lossing Hist. U.S. iv. ii. 132 This abridgment of their liberties..alienated the affections of the people from the mother country.
1912 Times 31 Dec. 3/2 They have to choose between either alienating the affection of opium merchants or jeopardizing their national vitality.
2005 J. Morgan Indiscretion i. 12 Caroline's father had come from a genteel Devon family, but had alienated their affections by a flamboyantly rebellious youth.
b. Law (chiefly U.S.): to induce a person to transfer his or her affection from someone with rights or claims to it (typically a spouse) to another held responsible for the estrangement, esp. as constituting grounds for legal action.
ΚΠ
1790 Lawyer's & Magistrate's Mag. Aug. 504 I should not..excuse the defendant, if he had been the original seducer: if he had corrupted this lady's mind, had alienated her affections from her husband.
1861 Rep. Supreme Court Wisconsin 11 430 The evidence offered by the defendant, for the purpose of showing that the affections of the wife had been previously alienated from the plaintiff by others,..should have been admitted.
1902 Washington Post 10 Jan. 3/3 [He] began suit..for damages in the sum of $50,000 against ‘Dr.’ Dowie and Elders..of the Christian Catholic Church of America, for alleged conspiracy to alienate his wife's affections.
2009 Minnesota Lawyer (Nexis) 14 Sept. The appellate court said evidence of those affairs was not relevant to the issue of the other woman's intent to alienate the affections of the plaintiff's spouse.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.?a1425
v.?a1475