anathema

[uh-nath-uh-muh]

noun

plural

anathemas 

1. a person or thing detested or loathed.

   That subject is anathema to him.

2. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation or destruction.

3. a formal ecclesiastical curse involving excommunication.

4. any imprecation of divine punishment.

5. a curse; execration.

anathema

/ əˈnæθəmə /

noun

1. a detested person or thing

   he is anathema to me

2. a formal ecclesiastical curse of excommunication or a formal denunciation of a doctrine

3. the person or thing so cursed

4. a strong curse; imprecation

Word History and Origins

Origin of anathema¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin, from Greek: “a thing accursed, devoted to evil,” originally “devoted,” from ana(ti)thé(nai) “to set up” + -ma, noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of anathema¹

C16: via Church Latin from Greek: something accursed, dedicated (to evil), from anatithenai to dedicate, from _ana- + tithenai to set

Example Sentences

That is why cities, those multi-ethnic anathemas, are under siege, from Washington to Los Angeles.

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But these ideas are anathema to pro-business Republicans, who have threatened to vote against any budget that includes them.

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The Fed wanted to allow rates to rise, which was anathema to the White House.

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“Apartment buildings are anathema to the city’s ethos.”

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"The notion of a 'passive bystander' was anathema to Kundanlal. If he saw something, or someone, that required attention, he attended to it, never intimidated by the enormity of the problem," writes Gupta.

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Related Words

• bane 
• pariah