Antichrist

American  

[an-ti-krahyst] / ˈæn tɪˌkraɪst /

noun

Theology.

1. a particular personage or power, variously identified or explained, who is conceived of as appearing in the world as the principal antagonist of Christ.

2. (sometimes lowercase) an opponent of Christ; a person or power antagonistic to Christ.

3. (often lowercase) a disbeliever in Christ.

4. (often lowercase) a false Christ.

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Antichrist British  

/ ˈæntɪˌkraɪst /

noun

1. New Testament the antagonist of Christ, expected by early Christians to appear and reign over the world until overthrown at Christ's Second Coming

2. (sometimes not capital) an enemy of Christ or Christianity

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Antichrist Cultural  

1. A person mentioned in the New Testament as an enemy of Jesus, who will appear before the Second Coming and win over many of Jesus' followers. The Antichrist is often identified with a beast described in the Book of Revelation, whom God destroys just before the final defeat of Satan.

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Since the New Testament was written, people have frequently tried to prove that an individual human being was the Antichrist. Some of the candidates have been the Roman emperors Nero and Caligula and the modern dictators Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin.

Other Word Forms

• Antichristian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Antichrist

before 1150; Middle English, Old English < Late Latin Antichrīstus < Late Greek Antíchrīstos the Antichrist. See anti-, Christ

Example Sentences

Appeared in the October 18, 2025, print edition as 'Artificial Intelligence, Armageddon and the Antichrist'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

That comes from the story of the Antichrist.

From Salon • May 26, 2025

At the end of “The Final Conflict,” the third “Omen” movie from 1981, Damien the Antichrist croaks out the words, “Nazarene, you have won ... nothing,” then collapses.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

In the new season, he is raising his biological son — he nefariously arranged the baby’s conception earlier in the series — and believes the child is the Antichrist.

From New York Times • May 20, 2024

Christian mystics devoted much energy to deciphering the number 666, said by John the Apostle to designate the name of the Beast of the Apocalypse, the Antichrist.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos