estrangement

C1 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /ɪˈstreɪndʒmənt/ UK /ɪˈstreɪndʒmənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #59935

Meanings

1

noun
the state or process of losing affection, trust, or contact in a personal relationship

Years of estrangement ended when the sisters began writing to each other again.
2

noun
a feeling of being alienated from a group, place, or former way of life

Migration left him with a lasting sense of estrangement from his hometown.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state or process of... alienation separation rupture

2 noun · a feeling of being... alienation detachment isolation

Opposites

reconciliation intimacy closeness belonging

Word family

Related forms estrange estranged strange reconcile

Etymology

Formed from estrange + -ment, after Old French estrangement. Estrange came through Old French estranger from Latin extraneus, 'external or foreign,' based on extra, 'outside.' The word therefore pictures people or places once familiar as having become strange or outside one's emotional world.

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# estrangement

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈstreɪndʒmənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈstreɪndʒmənt/
**Frequency rank:** 59935

## Meanings
1. the state or process of losing affection, trust, or contact in a personal relationship
2. a feeling of being alienated from a group, place, or former way of life

## Examples
- Years of estrangement ended when the sisters began writing to each other again.
- Migration left him with a lasting sense of estrangement from his hometown.

## Synonyms
- alienation
- separation
- rupture
- detachment
- isolation

## Antonyms
- reconciliation
- intimacy
- closeness
- belonging

## Related Forms
- estrange
- estranged
- strange
- reconcile

## Etymology
Formed from estrange + -ment, after Old French estrangement. Estrange came through Old French estranger from Latin extraneus, 'external or foreign,' based on extra, 'outside.' The word therefore pictures people or places once familiar as having become strange or outside one's emotional world.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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