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Glite Dictionary
alienist

alienist

3 9.9
A doctor who treats mental illness and helps in legal cases
  • noun
  • /ˈeɪliənɪst/
  • Archaic
: alienista
  • As a renowned alienist, he provided expert testimony on the impact of mental illness on criminal behavior.

So the alienist last recommendation is The Black Hand and this.

Examples

  • The judge relied on reports from several alienists to understand the complexities of the case.

  • Detailed descriptions of the crime scene, photo plates, even profiles from your alienist.

    Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)

  • Dr. Royer-Collard, a distinguished alienist.

    Quills (2000)

  • I refer you to medical expert and Gotham's premier alienist, Dr. Hugo Strange.

    Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018)

  • Court is adjourned while the state's alienists examine Mrs. Carlsen.

    They Drive by Night (1940)

  • After Sigmund Freud declined to examine the boys, Darrow hired the best alienists in the country to study the deranged duo.

    Swoon (1992)

  • The court appointed an alienist to evaluate the defendant's mental state before the trial.

Synonyms

psychiatrist
vsalienist
  • Specialized
351 5.1

A doctor who treats people with mental health problems and prescribes medicine

focuses on legal issues of mental illness and criminal responsibility historically

Surface Forms

alienist singular
alienists plural

Morphology

alienist = alien (opaque) = alien + ist

Although formed from 'alien' + '-ist', the historical sense refers to a specialist in mental alienation (a psychiatrist) and is not inferable as 'someone dealing with foreigners' by most learners.

Etymology

The word alienist comes from the root alien meaning 'foreign' or 'strange', because people with mental problems were once called 'alienated' or 'made strange'. So an alienist was a doctor who examined and treated such people, often for courts, which is why it came to mean a psychiatrist who worked with the law.