1. the study and treatment of mental disorders
Usage: archaic; medical
2. the condition of being a foreigner or alien
Usage: archaic; legal

Examples

• The doctor specialized in alienism before the field became known as psychiatry.
• Early alienism focused on treating patients in mental institutions.
• His alienism prevented him from voting in local elections.
• The legal concept of alienism determined property ownership rights.
• Alienism was a common term in 19th-century medical literature.