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al·ien·a·tion

(āl′yə-nāshən, ā′lē-ə-)

1. The act of alienating or the condition of being alienated; estrangement: Alcoholism often leads to the alienation of family and friends.

2. Psychology See depersonalization.

3. Law The act of transferring property or title to it to another.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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