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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.

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

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

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

Related Words

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