noun
alien
AY-lee-uhn
noun
1
A being from another planet.
"The movie is about aliens invading Earth."
2
A foreign citizen living in a country where they do not hold citizenship.
"She had to renew her resident alien status every few years."
adj
1
Very strange or unfamiliar.
"The customs of the new country felt completely alien to him at first."
verb
1
(formal, law) To transfer ownership of property to someone else.
"The estate could not alien the land without the trustee's consent."
How to Use Alien
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA being from outer space, a foreign non-citizen, or (as an adjective) something unfamiliar and strange.
Common pairings
illegal alien
alien invasion
feel alien to
Word Forms
more alien comparative, aliened past tense, aliens plural, aliens singular, most alien superlative
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The movie is about _____ invading Earth.
Etymology
From Latin alienus ("belonging to another"), from alius ("other") — related to English "else".