anti-mask

or an·ti·mask

[ an-tee-mask, an-tahy- ]

adjective

1. Also anti-masking. being or relating to legislation prohibiting any form of concealment of the face in public:

   Between the 1920s and 1950s, more than a dozen U.S. states passed anti-mask legislation in response to activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

2. being or relating to a person or group that resists wearing a mask over the nose and mouth to prevent the spread of infection, or that opposes the mandatory wearing of such masks, as during a pandemic:

   An anti-mask protest outside our local high school triggered a precautionary lockdown at three other schools.

   You won’t win your staunchly anti-mask friends over by shaming them.

Other Words From

• an·ti-mask·er an·ti·mask·er noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of anti-mask¹

First recorded in 1915–20; anti- ( def ) + mask ( def )