alienation
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alienation
The process or state in which one distances oneself from other people, one's work, or society and feels estranged. It describes a loss of emotional connection.
Die langen Arbeitszeiten führten zu einer zunehmenden Entfremdung von seiner Familie.
The long working hours led to increasing alienation from his family.
The word consists of three parts: the prefix 'ent-' (away), the adjective 'fremd' (foreign/strange), and the ending '-ung'. So it describes the process by which something or someone 'fremd wird' (becomes strange or unfamiliar).
Die Entfremdung ist ein zentrales Thema in der modernen Literatur.
Alienation is a central theme in modern literature.
'Entfremdung' is almost always used with the preposition 'von' and the dative. This expresses what one is distancing oneself from or feels separated from.
Er leidet unter der Entfremdung von seiner Familie.
He suffers from alienation from his family.
This word is often used to describe distance from people ('Entfremdung von Freunden' — alienation from friends), from society, or from one's own work.
Die Monotonie des Jobs führte zu einer Entfremdung von seiner Arbeit.
The monotony of the job led to alienation from his work.
distance
Distanz describes existing emotional coolness or a lack of familiarity; there does not have to have been closeness before. Entfremdung, by contrast, describes the loss of an earlier emotional connection. That is why Entfremdung is more precise for a relationship that was once close.
Zwischen den früher engen Kollegen entstand nach Jahren ohne Kontakt eine Entfremdung.
After years without contact, the formerly close colleagues grew estranged.
Zwischen den neuen Kollegen herrscht noch Distanz, weil sie sich kaum kennen.
There is still some distance between the new colleagues because they hardly know each other.
