estranged parent
Distant mother or father
An estranged parent is a mother or father who has become emotionally distant or cut off from their child, often through prolonged conflict, abuse, or mutual choice.
The estrangement may be initiated by either party: Her estranged father tried to reconnect after twenty years.
The term implies a relationship that once existed but has broken down, distinguishing it from an absent parent who was never present.
- alienatedMade distant or hostile
- distantFar away or aloof
- custodyProtective care or control
- custody battleLegal contest for parenting rights
- family courtTribunal for household legal matters
divorce · abandonment · reconciliation · resentment · no contact · absent · father · mother · broken home · childhood · grief · old wounds · longing · silence · letters · holidays · doorstep · photographs
- estrangementrift, alienation, disconnection, distance, disaffection
- toxic familydysfunction, broken home, family secret, scapegoat, golden child
- family rolesmother, father, mom, dad, mama
- relationship problemsaffair, disloyalty, adultery, unfaithfulness, cheating
- ex-relativesex-wife, ex-husband, ex-spouse, former spouse, ex-stepmother
estrange, estranged, estrangement, strange, strangely, strangeness, stranger, strangers, parent