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• anti
  anti

  noun

  a person who is opposed to a particular practice, party, policy, action, etc.
• anti-
  anti-

  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–
  anti–

  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.

anti

¹ American  

[an-tahy, an-tee] / ˈæn taɪ, ˈæn ti /

noun

• antis
  plural

1. 

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

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anti- ² American  

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 ).

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anti ¹ British  

/ ˈæntɪ /

adjective

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

   he won't join because he is rather anti

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noun

1. an opponent of a party, policy, etc

anti- ² British  

prefix

1. against; opposing

   anticlerical

   antisocial

2. opposite to

   anticlimax

   antimere

3. rival; false

   antipope

4. counteracting, inhibiting, or neutralizing

   antifreeze

   antihistamine

5. designating the antiparticle of the particle specified

   antineutron

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anti– Scientific  

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.

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Sensitive Note

See homophobia.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• antis
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of anti¹

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

Origin of anti-²

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

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Explanation

To be anti is to be opposed to or against something, like an action, political party, or government. If you are anti love scenes, you might prefer an action flick. The word anti comes from the prefix anti-, which means “against” or “opposite,” and is still used in English words, such as antibodies and anti-hero. As a word on its own anti is an adjective or preposition describing a person or thing that is against someone or something else. In a casual sense anti is sometimes used as a noun for a person who is against something — if you’re not on the pro side, you’re an anti.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anti anti- antis

“We’re not anti-peptide, we’re just anti people hurting themselves because they’re getting products that aren’t vetted or verified,” Hunter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

“I’m not anti data centers, I’m pro-transparency,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026

FDA approved anti amyloid therapies now target disease biology in early Alzheimer's, though they are not cures and do not restore lost memory or cognitive function.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

“I quickly realized” that it “was anti content,” said another.

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026

She tipped forward anti back, and the pocketbook swinging from her arm pummeled their heads.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

His songs were long, defiant and explicitly anti- governments in power and corruption.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

And even my dialect coach was really anti- the idea for a while because it was creating lisps in my mouth, which wasn’t right.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

Macron entered a political minefield, strewn with tension between anti- and pro-independence groups on the archipelago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2024

Later, Lydon would clarify that he was only seeking to demonstrate all the mixed feelings invested in the gravity of such a decision, and he considers the song neither anti- nor pro-abortion.

From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2024

In any case, despite the anti- climactic results, the test results were interpreted by the AEC as validating Livermore’s role as the developer of “new ideas” in thermonuclear technology.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

It was hours later when police finally started carrying away and sometimes arresting antis who were lying or sitting limply on the ground in front of the doors.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2023

“Lee was a maverick, a local provincial politician, and the antis used to be the mainstream, but the power equation changed.”

From Washington Times ● Sep. 22, 2023

For the antis, Councilman Lander beamed and welcomed kids to the microphone and announced that he now had commitments of twenty-six votes and thought the bill would pass.

From The New Yorker ● May 2, 2016

Pros and antis: it is disconcerting how decent they all seem.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 30, 2012

Whether the ranks of antis were exaggerated or not, it was clear that the time had not yet come for suffrage.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

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Related Words

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

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