antipathy
Americannoun
plural
antipathies-
a natural, basic, or habitual repugnance; aversion.
- Synonyms:
- hatred, detestation, abhorrence, disgust
- Antonyms:
- attraction
-
an instinctive contrariety or opposition in feeling.
-
an object of natural aversion or habitual dislike.
noun
-
a feeling of intense aversion, dislike, or hostility
-
the object of such a feeling
Related Words
See aversion.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of antipathy
1595–1605; < Latin antipathīa < Greek antipátheia. See anti-, -pathy
Explanation
An antipathy is a deep-seated dislike of something or someone. Usually it's a condition that is long-term, innate, and pretty unlikely to change — like your antipathy for the Red Sox. If you look at the Greek roots of this word — anti- ("against") and pathos ("feeling") — you can see that antipathy is a feeling against someone or something. In general, antipathies are feelings that are kept at least somewhat under wraps and are not out in the open.
Vocabulary lists containing antipathy
Power Prefix: Anti
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The Lost Boys,” a musical spun from Joel Schumacher’s 1987 horror comedy, won me over despite my antipathy to vampire schlock.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Filmmakers and critics fretted, reasonably, that a Netflix acquisition would kill off the moviegoing experience for good, in light of Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ professed antipathy toward theater-exclusive releases.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026
Rin Ushiyama, a sociologist at Queen's University Belfast, says sympathy for Yamagami is largely rooted in "widespread distrust and antipathy in Japan towards controversial religions like the Unification Church".
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
In any event, his campaign generated unprecedented enthusiasm, driving the largest turnout in a New York City election for 56 years — and also generated intense antipathy.
From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025
I see something there I rarely see—frustration, antipathy.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
