Definition of "alienate" []

• To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. See Synonyms at estrange. (verb-transitive)
• To cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or dissociate emotionally: The numbing labor tended to alienate workers. (verb-transitive)
• To cause to be transferred; turn away: "He succeeded . . . in alienating the affections of my only ward” ( Oscar Wilde). (verb-transitive)
• Law To transfer (property or a right) to the ownership of another, especially by an act of the owner rather than by inheritance. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The disposition of the Howard estate had been a matter of particular concern to Henry VIII who considered the Howard estates too valuable to alienate from the crown. 15 Henry's intention had been to gift them to Prince Edward."
• "So while the labels alienate and lose their artists who provide their product, they are also managing to alienate and lose the customers who buy it."
• "The one Hollywood consultant nobody in Democratic politics can afford to alienate is Andy Spahn."