verb (used with object), es·tranged, es·trang·ing.
- to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of: Their quarrel estranged the two friends.
- to remove to or keep at a distance: The necessity for traveling on business has estranged him from his family.
- to divert from the original use or possessor.
verb (tr)
- (usually passive often foll by from) to separate and live apart from (one’s spouse)he is estranged from his wife
- (usually passive often foll by from) to antagonize or lose the affection of (someone previously friendly); alienate
v.late 15c., from Middle French estrangier “to alienate,” from Vulgar Latin *extraneare “to treat as a stranger,” from Latin extraneus “foreign” (see strange). Related: Estranged.