Advertisement
Advertisement
alien
[ ey-lee-uhn, eyl-yuhn ]
noun
- a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.
- Often Disparaging and Offensive. a resident of one country who was born in or owes allegiance to another country and has not acquired citizenship by naturalization in the country of residence ( citizen ). resident alien, illegal alien.
- a foreigner.
- a person who has been estranged or excluded.
- a plant or animal species not originating where it is found but introduced, sometimes accidentally, from its native environment elsewhere:
Imported plants, seeds, or bulbs may harbor unwanted aliens such as foreign insects or the seeds of other plants.
adjective
- unlike one's own; strange; not belonging to one:
In English class, our teacher treated all slang as alien speech.
Synonyms: , , , , , , , ,
- residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.
- belonging or relating to noncitizens:
Under certain conditions, seizure of alien property is authorized.
Their manifesto is full of ideas alien to modern thinking.
- (of a plant or animal species) not native; introduced from a different environment:
The bullfrog is native to some Canadian provinces, but is an alien species in British Columbia.
alien
/ ˈeɪljən; ˈeɪlɪən; ˈeɪljənɪdʒ; ˈeɪlɪə- /
noun
- a person owing allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives; foreigner
- any being or thing foreign to the environment in which it now exists
- (in science fiction) a being from another world, sometimes specifically an extraterrestrial
adjective
- unnaturalized; foreign
- having foreign allegiance
alien territory
- unfamiliar; strange
an alien quality in a work of art
- postpositiveand foll byto repugnant or opposed (to)
war is alien to his philosophy
- (in science fiction) of or from another world
verb
- rare.tr to transfer (property, etc) to another
alien
/ ′ŧ-ə /
- Introduced to a region deliberately or accidentally by humans. Starlings, German cockroaches, and dandelions are species that are alien to North America but have become widely naturalized in the continent.
- Compare endemic
Sensitive Note
Derived Forms
- alienage, noun
Other yvlog Forms
- ԴDz·· noun adjective
- ·· adjective
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of alien1
yvlog History and Origins
Origin of alien1
Example Sentences
By the time he entered office, Yoon had not only alienated his oldest friend, but many moderate voters, and he had set himself up for a clash with the powerful opposition, that controlled the parliament.
On set, it was said he could be petulant and exhausting, an attitude that alienated directors and his co-stars, including Marlon Brando on the set of “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”
It quotes a 1953 Supreme Court decision that said: “’Once an alien lawfully enters and resides in this country, he becomes invested with the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all people within our borders.’”
“And that harm, plus the asserted public interest in swiftly removing dangerous aliens, outweighs the Plaintiffs’ desire to file a suit in the District of Columbia that they concede they could have brought in Texas.”
“These orders are an affront to the President’s broad constitutional and statutory authority to protect the United States from dangerous aliens who pose grave threats to the American people,” they said on behalf of Atty.
Advertisement
Related yvlogs
About This yvlog
What does alien mean?
Historically, the word alien has been used in a way that is now often considered disparaging and offensive: to refer to a person who was born in one country and now lives in another country without having become a citizen.
Alien and its more general synonym foreigner are now often considered disparaging and offensive due to being used in a way that’s intended to otherize a person—mark them as different and unwelcome. Such use is typically attributed to xenophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant stances.
This sense of alien is found in legal terms like resident alien and illegal alien. General and legal use of these terms has decreased in recent years, but they are still in use in many cases.
Relatedly, many object to the word illegal in illegal alien and illegal immigrant due to its implication that a person’s very existence can be illegal.
There are other common uses of the word alien that are not considered offensive, but that are also based on the idea of something being unfamiliar or from an entirely different place.
Alien can be used as an adjective to describe something as entirely unfamiliar, as in It was the first time he had returned in many years, and the place now seemed alien to him. The word foreign can be used in the same way.
The word alien is also commonly used as a noun to refer to a being from another planet, sometimes called an extraterrestrial or a space alien. The classic image of an alien from science fiction and pop culture (the one that comes out of a flying saucer) is a little green humanoid with a big head and large eyes. But aliens have been depicted in many different ways.
Where doesalien come from?
The first records of the word alien come from around 1300. It ultimately comes from the Latin word ŧԳܲ, meaning “foreign,” which itself comes from the word alius, meaning “other.”
Related words include the verb alienate, meaning “to cause to be withdrawn or isolated,” as well as the adjective form alienated and the noun alienation.
Did you know ... ?
What are some synonyms for alien?
- extraterrestrial (in the sense of a space alien)
What are some words that share a root or word element with alien?
What are some words that often get used in discussing alien?
How isalien used in real life?
When used in the context of citizenship and immigration, the word alien is often considered disparaging and offensive. However, it’s also commonly used as an adjective meaning “unfamiliar” and to refer to a being from another planet, especially in the context of science fiction.
I was thinking just now that if peaceful aliens arrived on Earth and made their presence known, humans would not be very generous hosts.
— Elspeth Eastman (@ElspethEastman)
We're gonna see and meet aliens this year.
— Mutahar (@OrdinaryGamers)
Try usingalien!
True or False?
The word alien derives from a Latin word meaning “other.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse