From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaliena‧li‧en1 /ˈeɪliən/ ●●○ adjective 1 DIFFERENTvery different from what you are used to, especially in a way that is difficult to understand or accept SYN strange the alien environment of the citybe alien to somebody a way of life that is totally alien to us2 FOREIGNbelonging to another country or race SYN foreign alien cultures an alien multiracial society3 [only before noun]TTS relating to creatures from another world alien beings from another planet
Examples from the Corpus
alien• By this time, I should not feel alien.• It is the people of this world who are alien.• To the rest of Britain, such behavior is not only alien, but alienating.• An alien object was threatening the organism.• Entire groups were driven from their homes to alien regions.• an alien spaceship• A parliament possessing real power is alien to the country's every tradition.• His decision to send her away from her home and brother into an alien world was interpreted as rejection.be alien to somebody• If she was stuck with wanting a man whose background and conditioning were alien to her, then that was her problem.• He also recognises that in a free society values may develop which are alien to its very existence.• Of course this kind of thoughtful extension is alien to most Highland hotel owners.• Nothing we learn about them is alien to ourselves.• A parliament possessing real power is alien to the country's every tradition.• They impose liturgical traditions, organisational structures, communication methods and leadership models which are alien to their environment.• It is alien to what the prevailing populace believes, or what it thinks it should believe.alien beings• In short, he concluded without reservation that the canals were artificial constructs of technologically advanced alien beings.• There was no alien spacecraft, and there were no alien beings and no secret autopsies in the desert in 1947.• That was exactly how I felt, as if I had been brought up by alien beings, inhuman things.• The daleks in question are not enraged alien beings with full metal jackets. alienalien2 ●○○ noun [countable] 1 someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in illegal aliens entering the countryRegisterAlien is used in official contexts. In everyday English, foreigner is used, but can sound disapproving or unfriendly. To avoid this, people often use the expression people from other countries instead: In those days people from other countries rarely came to Japan.2 TTSin stories, a creature from another worldExamples from the Corpus
alien• Let's say that as an alien you arrive in your space-ship, have a bumpy landing and succumb to amnesia.• I have a boss who is an alien from another planet.• These people believe they were kidnapped by aliens.• They didn't look ready for aliens.• The law makes it easier to find and deport illegal aliens.• In 1994, voters there approved Proposition 187, which restricts education, health and other state services to illegal aliens.• Some aliens may qualify for citizenship under the new law.• Intrigued, the aliens monitored the few lyrics they could hear rising up from this outdoor roller ritual.• The rest of the aliens look at me, look at each other, look down at their food.• Apparently we have made contact with aliens!illegal aliens• He claimed there was widespread voting by noncitizens and illegal aliens.• Then agents have a hard time distinguishing illegal aliens from others, he said.• Under the amnesty law, many illegal aliens were given citizenship.• A family of illegal aliens is peppered with shotgun pellets in a drive-by shooting.• At issue is a provision in the 1986 immigration bill barring the hiring of illegal aliens.• In 1994, voters there approved Proposition 187, which restricts education, health and other state services to illegal aliens.• John Fife, were found guilty in federal court of transporting illegal aliens, conspiracy and other charges.AlienAlien (1979) a horror film directed by Ridley Scott about a creature that kills people, sometimes after first living in their bodies. There has been a series of Alien films, including Alien Resurrection (1997) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).From Longman Business Dictionaryaliena‧li‧en /ˈeɪliən/ noun [countable] someone who lives and works in a foreign countrymeasures to preventillegal aliens entering the countryOrigin alien1 (1300-1400) Old French Latin alienus, from alius “other” 