animus
Americannoun
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strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity.
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motivating purpose or intention; animating spirit.
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(in the psychology of C. G. Jung) the masculine principle, especially as present in women.
noun
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intense dislike; hatred; animosity
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motive, intention, or purpose
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(in Jungian psychology) the masculine principle present in the female unconscious See also anima
Etymology
Origin of animus
First recorded in 1810–20; from Latin: literally, “mind, spirit, courage, passion, wrath”; akin to Greek ánemos “wind”; see also anima
Compare meaning
How does animus compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Saying you have animus toward a person is a fancy way of saying that you hate their guts. You could also say that an animus exists between two people. That's when they hate each others' guts. If you're familiar with the word animosity, meaning bad feelings, you're only a hop, skip, or jump away from understanding animus. But then it gets tricky. The word can also mean a motivating force — you could refer to the fear of infection as the animus behind a movement to sterilize public buildings.
Vocabulary lists containing animus
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Speak Your Mind: Anim
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A Word's-Eye View of the Primetime GOP Debate (Aug. 6, 2015)
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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.
"Each has animus, they each have a soul."
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Nor did the Haitian respondents provide sufficient evidence that the contentious statements Trump and Noem made demonstrate that racial animus motivated the termination of Haitians’ TPS, the court held.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
So sort of, what tore them apart was Rupert, and I think what brought them together was their mutual animus towards Rupert.
From Slate ● Mar. 21, 2026
Byers, who represented himself at trial, said he had no animus toward law enforcement and that it would be “out of character” for him to shoot at police.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
Minya’s animus burned brighter than Ruby’s fire, and for good reason: She was the only one of them who actually remembered the Carnage.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
