alien

alien [āl′yən, āl′ē ən]

adj.

[ME & OFr < L alienus < alius, other: see ELSE]

1. belonging to another country or people; foreign

2. strange; not natural [cruel words alien to his lips]

3. opposed or repugnant [beliefs alien to one's religion]

4. of aliens

n.

1. a foreigner

2. a foreign-born resident in a country who has not become a naturalized citizen

3. an outsider

4. in science fiction, a being in or from outer space and not native to the Earth; extraterrestrial

vt.

[ME alienen < OFr aliener < L alienare]

to transfer (land, property, etc.)

SYN.- EXTRINSIC, ALIEN is applied to a resident who bears political allegiance to another country; FOREIGNER, to a visitor or resident from another country, esp. one with a different language, cultural pattern, etc.; STRANGER, to a person from another region who is unacquainted with local people, customs, etc.; IMMIGRANT, to a person who comes to another country to settle; ÉMIGRÉ, to a citizen of one country who has left it to take political refuge in another

-ANT. CITIZEN, SUBJECT, NATIONAL