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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

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

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

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

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026

Over time, mapping where these enzymes are located and understanding their functions could help identify biomarkers for diagnosing cancer or reveal new weaknesses that anti cancer drugs could target.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026

We did well to get enough for uniforms, bats, anti balls.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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

The move to widen the vote followed several years of failed negotiations between Paris and anti- and pro-independence groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 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

Then, because the stretch limo was already humming on the anti- grav pad, she patted them fondly and ran out the door.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

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

All of a sudden, the cops are gone, and the antis and the Nazis are kind of just looked at each other, like: is there really nothing separating us now?

From The Guardian ● Feb. 17, 2018

On a Wednesday, both held rallies on the steps of City Hall, the pro-baggers at eleven in the morning and the antis at two in the afternoon.

From The New Yorker ● May 2, 2016

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

Related Words

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