anti-

¹ 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 ² American  

[an-tahy, an-tee] / ˈæn taɪ, ˈæn ti /

noun

PLURAL

antis

1. a person who is opposed to a particular practice, party, policy, action, etc.

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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 anti-¹

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

Origin of anti¹

First recorded in 1780–90; by shortening of words prefixed with anti-

Example Sentences

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

The bill followed years of failed negotiations between anti- and pro-independence groups on a broader agreement on the archipelago’s future and governance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Attempting to do that, and in just a few days, led Ribeiro-Addy to publicly complain about the process being anti democratic.

From BBC

Among the anti immigration crowd there were signs reading "stop the boats'"and "enough is enough", while counter demonstrators chanted "refugees are welcome here".

From BBC

"He was anti everything to do with it," one local told the Sydney Morning Herald.

From BBC

Related Words

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