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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

Scotland's anti bullying policy, Respect for All, has existed since 2010 but councils and schools do not have to follow the guidance.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

“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

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

Like many people who find themselves on the anti- side of the assisted-suicide issue, he takes the concept to what seem very logical conclusions—with an assist from Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025

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

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

He failed to stop his opponents from ripping apart most of the bags containing anti- North Korean leaflets.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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

Seemingly forgetting that it was she herself who introduced on-street hiring in 2018, she became overnight the voice of the antis - all those people who find scooters profoundly annoying.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 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

That way, if voter turnout was low, the antis could claim that it was because women didn’t want the ballot.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

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