alienated
Made to feel
Alienated describes feeling isolated, estranged, or cut off from others, from society, or from something one was once connected to.
An alienated worker feels disconnected from their labor or workplace; alienated youth feel they don't belong in mainstream society.
The word carries connotations of emotional distance and disaffection.
In legal contexts, alienated property has been transferred to another owner.
She felt increasingly alienated from her old friends after moving abroad.
Separated by emotional distance
- disconnectedSeparated from a source
- disaffectedResentful toward former allegiance
- disillusionedFreed from false beliefs
- disenchantedLost one's illusions
withdrawn · detached · distant · isolated · lonely · misunderstood · unseen · unheard
Deprived of voting rights
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- dissenterOpponent of orthodoxy
- disaffectedResentful toward former allegiance
- radicalizedMade politically extreme
dispossessed · marginalized · voiceless · powerless · oppressed · subjugated · colonized · exploited
Separated by emotional distance
- disownedRejected familial ties
- disinheritedExcluded from inheritance
- separatedPut or kept apart
- divorcedLegally ended marriage
banished · repudiated · cut off · unforgiven · prodigal · black sheep · exiled · orphaned
Excluded from a group
- excludedShut out, denied entry
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- outcastShunned, rejected person
pariah · rejected · spurned · snubbed · sidelined · blackballed · unwelcome · persona non grata
One who doesn't fit in
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- rebelAuthority defier
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
eccentric · oddball · loner · fringe · heretic · bohemian · renegade · dropout
Banishment from homeland
- expatriateOne living abroad permanently
- refugeePerson fleeing danger abroad
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
- emigrantPerson resettling in another nation
displaced · stateless · deportee · uprooted · homeless · diaspora · outsider · foreigner
Relating to existence itself
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- nihilisticRejecting meaningful existence
- anomieBreakdown of shared standards
- KafkaesqueOppressively absurd and labyrinthine
dehumanized · objectified · commodified · depersonalized · meaningless · purposeless · disenchanted · cynical
estranged
Separated by emotional distance
- disconnectedSeparated from a source
- disaffectedResentful toward former allegiance
- disillusionedFreed from false beliefs
disenchanted · withdrawn · detached · distant · isolated · lonely · misunderstood · unseen · unheard · invisible
disenfranchised
Deprived of voting rights
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- dissenterOpponent of orthodoxy
- disaffectedResentful toward former allegiance
radicalized · dispossessed · marginalized · voiceless · powerless · oppressed · subjugated · colonized · exploited · disillusioned
estranged
Separated by emotional distance
- disownedRejected familial ties
- disinheritedExcluded from inheritance
- separatedPut or kept apart
divorced · banished · repudiated · cut off · unforgiven · prodigal · black sheep · exiled · orphaned · abandoned
ostracized
Excluded from a group
- excludedShut out, denied entry
- marginalizedPushed to society's edges
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
outcast · pariah · rejected · spurned · snubbed · sidelined · blackballed · unwelcome · persona non grata · cold-shouldered
misfit
One who doesn't fit in
nonconformist · eccentric · oddball · loner · fringe · heretic · bohemian · renegade · dropout · countercultural
exile
Banishment from homeland
- expatriateOne living abroad permanently
- refugeePerson fleeing danger abroad
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
emigrant · displaced · stateless · deportee · uprooted · homeless · diaspora · outsider · foreigner · stranger
existential
Relating to existence itself
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- nihilisticRejecting meaningful existence
- anomieBreakdown of shared standards
Kafkaesque · dehumanized · objectified · commodified · depersonalized · meaningless · purposeless · disenchanted · cynical · jaded
- outcastsoutcast, pariah, pariahs, outcasts, outlaws
- outsidersoutcast, outsider, outcasts, pariah, misfit
- marginalizedmarginalized, disenfranchised, outcasts, pariahs, oppressed
- wrongedabused, mistreated, victimized, exploited, oppressed
- sidelinedbenched, shelved, sidetracked, put on hold, on hold
- oustedfired, axed, sacked, canned, terminated
alienatedconnected
Joined to another
united · belonging · integrated · included · bonded
- parental alienationManipulating child against other parent
- social alienationDisconnection from society, self
- cultural alienationDisconnection from one's heritage