estrange

English

Etymology

From Old French estranger (“to treat as a stranger”), from Latin extraneus (“foreigner, stranger”) (from which also English strange, stranger). Also see Spanish: extraño.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈstreɪndʒ/, /əˈstreɪndʒ/

Verb

estrange (third-person singular simple present estranges, present participle estranging, simple past and past participle estranged)

1. (transitive) To cause to feel less close or friendly; alienate. To cease contact with (particularly of a family member or spouse, especially in form estranged).
2. (transitive) To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations.

Usage notes

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

When speaking of a parent being estranged from a child of theirs, disown is frequently used instead, and has a stronger connotation.

Synonyms

• (cause to feel less close): alienate, antagonize, disaffect, isolate
• (remove from an accustomed context): wean

Derived terms

• estrangement
• estranger

Related terms

• strange
• stranger

Coordinate terms

• disown

Translations

To cause to feel less close or friendly; alienate

• Bulgarian: отчуждавам (bg) (otčuždavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: trad. 疏遠, simpl. 疏远 (shūyuǎn)

• Czech: odcizit (cs)
• Dutch: vervreemden (nl)

• Finnish: vieraannuttaa (fi)
• German: entfremden (de)
• Greek: αποξενώνω (el) (apoxenóno) (apoxenóno)
• Macedonian: отуѓи (mk) (ótuǵi)

To remove from an accustomed place or set of associations

• Dutch: ontwortelen
• Finnish: vieraannuttaa (fi)

• German: entfremden (de)
• Macedonian: оддалечи (mk) (oddáleči), отуѓи (mk) (ótuǵi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: s'aliéner, déraciner

Anagrams

• grantees, greatens, reagents, rentages, segreant, sergeant, sternage

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Middle French

Adjective

estrange m and f (plural estranges)

1. strange; odd; bizarre
   • 1532, François Rabelais, Pantagruel:

     mais leur estat est changé en estrange façon.

     But their state change in a strange fashion

2. foreign
   • circa 1369, Jean Froissart, Chroniques:

     Si vous alez guerroier en contree estrange

     If you're going to engage in warfare in a foreign country

Derived terms

• estrangement

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Old French

Etymology

Latin extraneus.

Noun

estrange m and f

1. foreign; oversea

Descendants

• English: strange, estrange
• French: étrange