alien

[ ey-lee-uhn, eyl-yuhn ]

noun

1. a creature from outer space; extraterrestrial.
2. Often Disparaging and Offensive. a resident of one country who was born in or owes allegiance to another country and has not acquired citizenship by naturalization in the country of residence ( citizen ). resident alien, illegal alien.
3. a foreigner.
4. a person who has been estranged or excluded.
5. a plant or animal species not originating where it is found but introduced, sometimes accidentally, from its native environment elsewhere:

   Imported plants, seeds, or bulbs may harbor unwanted aliens such as foreign insects or the seeds of other plants.

adjective

1. unlike one's own; strange; not belonging to one:

   In English class, our teacher treated all slang as alien speech.

   Synonyms: nonnative, incompatible, inimical, averse, antagonistic, foreign, unknown, unfamiliar, exotic

2. residing under a government or in a country other than that of one's birth without having or obtaining the status of citizenship there.
3. belonging or relating to noncitizens:

   Under certain conditions, seizure of alien property is authorized.

4. opposed; adverse; hostile (usually followed by to or from ):

   Their manifesto is full of ideas alien to modern thinking.

5. extraterrestrial ( def 1 ).
6. (of a plant or animal species) not native; introduced from a different environment:

   The bullfrog is native to some Canadian provinces, but is an alien species in British Columbia.

alien

/ ˈeɪljən; ˈeɪlɪən; ˈeɪljənɪdʒ; ˈeɪlɪə- /

noun

1. a person owing allegiance to a country other than that in which he lives; foreigner
2. any being or thing foreign to the environment in which it now exists
3. (in science fiction) a being from another world, sometimes specifically an extraterrestrial

adjective

1. unnaturalized; foreign
2. having foreign allegiance

   alien territory

3. unfamiliar; strange

   an alien quality in a work of art

4. postpositiveand foll byto repugnant or opposed (to)

   war is alien to his philosophy

5. (in science fiction) of or from another world

verb

1. rare.
   tr to transfer (property, etc) to another

alien

/ ā′lē-ən /

1. Introduced to a region deliberately or accidentally by humans. Starlings, German cockroaches, and dandelions are species that are alien to North America but have become widely naturalized in the continent.
2. Compare endemic

Sensitive Note

See illegal alien.

Derived Forms

• alienage, noun

Other Words From

• non·al·ien noun adjective
• pro·al·ien adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of alien¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aliēnus “belonging to or affecting someone else; someone else's; not one's own; foreign,” equivalent to ali(us) “other” + -ēnus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of alien¹

C14: from Latin aliēnus foreign, from alius other

Example Sentences

She voiced a character for a 2015 Lego video game and was a main voice in “Lloyd in Space,” a Disney cartoon centered on a child alien that ran for four seasons from 2001-2004.

From New York Times

On Wednesday, FX dropped a longer teaser of the highly anticipated "Alien: Earth" that is giving birth vibes.

From Salon

The year 2120 tracks with everything that Hawley has teased earlier – that "Alien: Earth" would take place roughly 70 years in the future and that would make the series a prequel to the original "Alien" film.

From Salon

FX's "Alien: Earth" will arrive in Summer 2025 on Hulu.

From Salon

When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in the sci-fi horror series “Alien: Earth.”

From Salon

Related Words

• exotic
• incongruous
• unusual