anti

¹

[ an-tahy, an-tee ]

noun

, plural an·tis.

1. a person who is opposed to a particular practice, party, policy, action, etc.

anti-

²

1. a prefix meaning “against,” “opposite of,” “antiparticle of,” used in the formation of compound words ( anticline ); used freely in combination with elements of any origin ( antibody; antifreeze; antiknock; antilepton ).

anti

¹

/ ˈæntɪ /

adjective

1. opposed to a party, policy, attitude, etc

   he won't join because he is rather anti

noun

1. an opponent of a party, policy, etc

anti-

²

prefix

1. against; opposing

   antisocial

   anticlerical

2. opposite to

   antimere

   anticlimax

3. rival; false

   antipope

4. counteracting, inhibiting, or neutralizing

   antifreeze

   antihistamine

5. designating the antiparticle of the particle specified

   antineutron

anti–

1. A prefix whose basic meaning is “against.” It is used to form adjectives that mean “counteracting” (such as antiseptic, preventing infection). It is also used to form nouns referring to substances that counteract other substances (such as antihistamine, a substance counteracting histamine), and nouns meaning “something that displays opposite, reverse, or inverse characteristics of something else” (such as anticyclone, a storm that circulates in the opposite direction from a cyclone). Before a vowel it becomes ant–, as in antacid.

Sensitive Note

See homophobia.

Word History and Origins

Origin of anti¹

First recorded in 1780–90; by shortening of words prefixed with anti-

Origin of anti²

From Middle English, from Latin, from Greek, prefixal use of antí; akin to Sanskrit ánti “opposite,” Latin ante, Middle Dutch ende (giving rise to Dutch en “and”), English an- in answer. See ante-, and

Word History and Origins

Origin of anti¹

from Greek anti

Example Sentences

"There was a lot of anti German feeling in Newport. They asked Mabel whether she would divorce Max because he was a German - she refused to do that."

From BBC

Whatever the virtues of the anti–Amendment 3 argument, DeSantis’ political brand and history with the industry makes him a particularly poor messenger.

From Slate

America has left a loaded anti immigrant gun lying around.

From Slate

Toward the end of the summer of 2023, Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, noticed that rightwing anti immigration groups and the Trump campaign had started talking in earnest about using a very old law with a very dark history, in order to do very chilling things to immigrants.

From Slate

By then, even Mullenweg appeared to tone down a little of the righteousness in his anti–WP Engine crusade.

From Slate

Related Words

• adverse
• belligerent
• bitter
• contentious
• contrary
• hateful
• inhospitable
• inimical
• nasty
• opposed
• unfavorable
• unfriendly
• unsympathetic