anti-mask

American  

[an-tee-mask, an-tahy-] / ˈæn tiˌmæsk, ˈæn taɪ- /

Or antimask

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.

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Other Word Forms

• anti-masker noun
• antimasker noun

Etymology

Origin of anti-mask

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

Example Sentences

A candidate for local office who was harassed by election deniers and anti-mask activists wins her race for county registrar of voters.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2022

For someone who's firmly remained anti-mask during the pandemic, Rudy Giuliani showed his love of them on a certain reality show called "The Masked Singer."

From Salon • Feb. 3, 2022

We could have gone further, of course, making room for politicians and public health officials, anti-mask tantrum-throwers and their designated shamers, influencers and meme-mongers and toddlers who tumbled into frame during parental work Zooms.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2021

With anti-mask vigilantes, the omicron virus and lost luggage, you already have enough to worry about when flying.

From Washington Post • Nov. 30, 2021

Find two places in Comus where dances are introduced to serve the purpose of an anti-mask, that is, a humorous interlude to afford contrast and amusement.

From Teachers' Outlines for Studies in English Based on the Requirements for Admission to College by Blakely, Gilbert Sykes