Meaning & use
alien
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Strange and unfamiliar, so that it feels as if it belongs to another world or culture.
Grammar: Often followed by to: ideas alien to my way of thinking.
Patterns
- alien to someone
- an alien concept
The language felt alien to her at first.
Such cruelty is alien to his nature.
The city's customs seemed alien to the newcomers.
nouncountable
A creature from another planet, especially in science fiction.
Grammar: Used for creatures: an alien landed in the film.
Patterns
- an alien from somewhere
The film is about an alien who befriends a boy.
Children dressed as aliens for the party.
Scientists search for signs of alien life.
nouncountableformallegal
A person who lives in a country where they are not a citizen.
Grammar: A legal term; many people prefer the word foreign national.
Patterns
- a resident alien
Resident aliens must carry their registration cards.
The new law applies to aliens living abroad.
He applied for a visa as an alien.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Belonging to a different country or from outside, such as a plant or species.
Grammar: Appears before a noun: alien species.
Patterns
- an alien species
Alien plants have spread across the island.
The government banned the import of alien species.
Alien fish harmed the native trout.
Word forms
| plural | aliens |
|---|
Common combinations
- alien life
- Scientists search for alien life.
- alien to someone
- This idea is alien to me.
- alien species
- Alien species can damage local ecosystems.
- illegal alien
- The phrase illegal alien is considered offensive by many.
- alien invasion
- The movie shows an alien invasion.
- alien environment
- The desert was an alien environment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- foreign
- Foreign means from another country, but alien suggests unfamiliar to the point of strangeness.
- strange
- Strange is general, while alien suggests belonging to a completely different world.
- unfamiliar
- Unfamiliar is mild and neutral, whereas alien is stronger.
- extraterrestrial
- Extraterrestrial is the formal word for a being from another planet.
Opposites
Word family
- alienate verb
- to make someone feel unwelcome or distant
- alienation noun
- the feeling of being cut off
- alienated adjective
- feeling isolated
- unalien adjective
- a rare word meaning not strange
Commonly confused: alien or alienate?
alien vs alienate
Alienate is a verb meaning to make someone feel distant, while alien describes something strange or a being.
Practice
The rules of cricket seemed completely ___ to him, since he had grown up playing only baseball.
Choose one answer.
Alien here means unfamiliar and strange. Familiar, obvious and natural would suggest he understood the rules.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alien”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.