anathematize

[uh-nath-uh-muh-tahyz]

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verb (used with object), a·nath·e·ma·tized, a·nath·e·ma·tiz·ing.

to pronounce an anathema against; denounce; curse.

verb (used without object), a·nath·e·ma·tized, a·nath·e·ma·tiz·ing.

to pronounce anathemas; curse.

Also especially British, a·nath·e·ma·tise.

Origin of anathematize

1560–70; (< Middle French) < Late Latin anathematizāre to put under the ban, curse, detest < Greek anathematízein to bind by a curse, make accursed, equivalent to anathemat- (stem of anáthema) + -izein -ize

Related formsa·nath·e·ma·ti·za·tion, nouna·nath·e·ma·tiz·er, nounde·a·nath·e·ma·tize, verb (used with object), de·a·nath·e·ma·tized, de·a·nath·e·ma·tiz·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for anathematize

execrate, maledict, damn, imprecate, excommunicate, comminate

Examples from the Web for anathematize

Historical Examples of anathematize

She must have no terms with it; if she would be true to her Master, she must ban and anathematize it.
Apologia Pro Vita Sua
John Henry Cardinal Newman
He resolved to annihilate the unruly corps and anathematize their name.
The Continental Monthly, Vol 3 No 3, March 1863
Various
Be sure that Ravenna, anathematize as he may, will never be permitted to enter that convent.
The Shadow of the Czar
John R. Carling
Will they burn me at Carfax, or will they anathematize me with bell, book, and candle?
The Works of William Cowper
William Cowper
For my part, I utterly repudiate and anathematize the intruder.
The Philosophy of Natural Theology
William Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for anathematize

anathematize

anathematise

verb

to pronounce an anathema (upon a person, etc); curse

Derived Formsanathematization or anathematisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anathematize

"to pronounce an anathema against," 1560s, from French anathématiser (Old French anatemer), from Latin anathematizare, from Greek anathematizein "to devote (to evil)," from stem of anathema. Alternative anathemize (1670s) is less correct and more rare. Related: Anathematized; anathematizing.