ALIENATE

al'-yen-at (`abhar; apallotrioo, "to estrange from"): In Old Testament, for the break between husband and wife caused by unfaithfulness to the marriage vow (Jeremiah 6:8; Ezekiel 23:17); also applied to the diversion of property (Ezekiel 48:14). In New Testament, spiritually, for the turning of the soul from God (Ephesians 2:12; Colossians 1:21). The Greek allotrios, which is the root of the verb, is the opposite of id-i-os, "one's own." The word implies a former state, whence the person or thing has departed, and that, generally, by deterioration.

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.