وَحْشَةٌ estrangement in Arabic
وَحْشَةٌ is how you say “estrangement” in Arabic.
Root و ح ش w-ḥ-sh. noun (abstract noun; also the feminine of the adjective وَحْشٌ). waḥshah.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of estrangement in Arabic
- loneliness, solitude, a feeling of estrangement the disquiet, sadness, or fear a person feels when separated from others — the state named by the verb استوحش, "to feel waḥshah"
- desolation; a deserted, uninhabited state used of a place, as in أَرْضٌ وَحْشَةٌ, "a desolate land" — the opposite of being settled or familiar
Example sentence
والوحشة بَين العَبْد وَبَين ربّه
And estrangement between the servant and their Lord.
وَالْوَحْشَةُ and estrangement
wa- = 'and'; al- = 'the'; wahsha means 'loneliness, estrangement' and is the subject of the phrase.
The English is machine-translated.
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How it is used
waḥshah is the direct opposite of uns (ease, sociable familiarity): awḥasha, "to make lonely," is given as the contrary of ānasa, "to make at ease." The word covers both an emotional sense (missing someone, feeling estranged or ill at ease) and a physical one (a place being deserted). Lane notes the everyday expression أَوْحَشْتَنَا, "you have made us lonely," said to someone after an absence — i.e. "we missed you."
Words from the same root
- وَحْشٌ a desert or desolate place; also "wild animal(s)" collectively
- وَحْشِىٌّ wild, of the wilderness (e.g. حِمَارٌ وَحْشِىٌّ, "a wild ass")
- أَوْحَشَ to become desolate (of a place); to make someone feel lonely — opposite of ānasa, "to put at ease"
- مُوحِشٌ desolate, lonely-making (active participle of awḥasha)
- تَوَحَّشَ to become wild, unsociable, or shy, like a wild animal
- اسْتَوْحَشَ to feel lonely, estranged, or afraid; to be shy of someone
More example sentences
إياك أن تشتغل بهذا الجدل الذي ظهر بعد انقراض الأكابر من العلماء يشير إلى جدل العميدي فإنه يبعد عن الفقه، ويضيع العمر، ويورث الوحشة والعداوة،
Beware of getting involved in this debate that emerged after the passing of the great scholars (referring to the debate of Al-Amidi), for it distances you from understanding the law, wastes your life, and breeds loneliness and enmity.
الوَحْشَةَ animosity
'estrangement, desolation', accusative object — the loneliness it breeds.
Common questions
- How do you say "estrangement" in Arabic?
- وَحْشَةٌ (waḥshah) — it covers loneliness, solitude, and the disquiet of estrangement.
- What does أَوْحَشْتَنَا mean?
- "You have made us lonely" — a set phrase (from the same root) said to someone after their absence, meaning roughly "we missed you."
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).