different between alienate vs repel

English

Etymology

From Middle English alienat, from Latin ali?n?tus, perfect passive participle of ali?n? (“alienate, estrange”), from ali?nus. See alien, and confer aliene.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?e?.li.?.ne?t/

Adjective

alienate (not comparable)

1. (archaic, followed by "from") Estranged; withdrawn in affection; foreign
   • 1667, John Milton. Paradise Lost (line 4643)

     O alienate from God.

Noun

alienate (plural alienates)

1. (obsolete) A stranger; an alien.

Verb

alienate (third-person singular simple present alienates, present participle alienating, simple past and past participle alienated)

1. To convey or transfer to another, as title, property, or right; to part voluntarily with ownership of.
2. To estrange; to withdraw affections or attention from; to make indifferent or averse, where love or friendship before subsisted.
   • 1832, Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening

     The recollection of his former life is a dream that only the more alienates him from the realities of the present.

Usage notes

Alienate is largely synonymous with estrange. However, alienate is used primarily to refer to driving off (“he alienated her with his atrocious behavior”) or to offend a group (“the imprudent remarks alienated the urban demographic”), while estrange is used rather to mean “cut off relations”, particularly in a family setting.

Synonyms

• (estrange): estrange, antagonize, isolate, marginalize

Antonyms

• (estrange): accept

Translations

References

• alienate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Italian

Adjective

alienate f pl

1. feminine plural of alienato

Noun

alienate f

1. plural of alienata

Verb

alienate

1. second-person plural present of alienare
2. second-person plural imperative of alienare
3. feminine plural past participle of alienare

Anagrams

• aneliate

Latin

Verb

ali?n?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of ali?n?

Middle English

Adjective

alienate

1. Alternative form of alienat

English

Etymology

From Middle English repellen, a borrowing from Old French *repeller, from Latin repellere (“to drive back”), from re- (“back”) + pellere (“to drive”). Doublet of repeal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???p?l/

Verb

repel (third-person singular simple present repels, present participle repelling, simple past and past participle repelled)

1. (transitive, now rare) To turn (someone) away from a privilege, right, job, etc. [from 15th c.]
2. (transitive) To reject, put off (a request, demand etc.). [from 15th c.]
3. (transitive) To ward off (a malignant influence, attack etc.). [from 15th c.]
4. (transitive) To drive back (an assailant, advancing force etc.). [from 15th c.]
   • 2011, Ian Traynor, The Guardian, 19 May 2011:

     In nearby Zintan, rebels repelled an advance by Gaddafi's forces, killing eight and taking one prisoner, a local activist said.

5. (transitive, physics) To force away by means of a repulsive force. [from 17th c.]
6. (transitive) To cause repulsion or dislike in; to disgust. [from 18th c.]
   • 2008, The Guardian, 26 Jan 2008:

     However, while the idea of a free holiday appeals enormously, I am frankly repelled by the idea of spending a couple of weeks in your company.

7. (transitive, sports) To save (a shot).

Synonyms

• (nonstandard, rare) withdrive

Antonyms

• attract

Related terms

• repulse
• repulsion
• repulsive
• repellent

Translations

Further reading

• repel in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• repel in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• repel at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Epler, Lepre, leper