antisemitism

or an·ti-Sem·i·tism

[ an-tee-sem-i-tiz-uhm, an-tahy- ]

noun

1. discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews.

Spelling Note

The closed and lowercase spelling antisemitism is now the preferred form. Jewish groups have long preferred the single word spelling, and many style guides, including those of major publications, have also adopted it. While Semitic is a current linguistic term for a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages including Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician, the spelling anti-Semite falsely implies prejudice against all of the diverse groups of people who speak any of these languages. However, that is not how antisemite is used. Rather, the “Semite” in antisemitism is a euphemism for “Jew,” meant to lend a scientific air to the racial grouping of all Jewish peoples based on an outdated pseudoscience of race.

Word History and Origins

Origin of antisemitism¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The crime of antisemitism is an ageless one, an international one, and a heinous one.

From The Daily Beast

The antisemitism of the Middle East has its roots in the same place.

From The Daily Beast

One enduring lesson of the Holocaust is that antisemitism is not a parochial Jewish interest.

From The Daily Beast

Until his death this year, Fred Phelps had been feeding antisemitism into the area since 1967.

From The Daily Beast

A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism An unparalleled education on discrimination against Jews.

From The Daily Beast

People who knew the younger M. Rainda antisemitism were surprised at his intimacy with that Galician Jew.

From Project Gutenberg

The Christian-Socialist movement began with antisemitism as the corner-stone of its economic and social doctrines.

From Project Gutenberg

One of these was the economic antisemitism that rose partly from the competition of the middle classes of both populations.

From Project Gutenberg