The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002.
alienation
(ay-lee-uh-NAY-shuhn) A feeling of separation or isolation. In social science, alienation is associated with the problems caused by rapid social change, such as industrialization and urbanization (seeIndustrial Revolution), which has broken down traditional relationships among individuals and groups and the goods and services they produce.
Alienation is most often associated with minorities, the poor, the unemployed, and other groups who have limited power to bring about changes in society.