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alien
[eyl-yuhn, ey-lee-uhn]
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 ).
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.
opposed; adverse; hostile (usually followed by to orfrom ).
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
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
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 indigenous
Sensitive Note
Other 51Թ Forms
- nonalien noun
- proalien adjective
- alienage noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of alien1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of alien1
Example Sentences
The statement continued: “Every removal of an illegal alien helps restore order and reinforce the rule of law.”
"Removing this identity alienated its core shopper base."
"We will follow the President's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets," she said.
“It’s not just about arresting illegal aliens, it’s about holding employers responsible too — but there’s a burden of proof,” Homan said.
"He is culturally displaced and alienated," she said.
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When To Use
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.
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