antisemitism

Or an·ti-Sem·i·tism

[an-tee-sem-i-tiz-uhm, an-tahy-]

noun

1. discrimination against or prejudice or hostility toward Jews.

Spelling Note

The closed and lowercase spelling antisemitism is now the preferred form. Jewish groups have long preferred the single word spelling, and many style guides, including those of major publications, have also adopted it. While Semitic is a current linguistic term for a subfamily of Afroasiatic languages including Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician, the spelling anti-Semite falsely implies prejudice against all of the diverse groups of people who speak any of these languages. However, that is not how antisemite is used. Rather, the “Semite” in antisemitism is a euphemism for “Jew,” meant to lend a scientific air to the racial grouping of all Jewish peoples based on an outdated pseudoscience of race.

Word History and Origins

Origin of antisemitism¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Pressure over antisemitism allegations against the Berkeley school system intensified Monday with the launch of what members of Congress called a “nationwide investigation of antisemitism in K-12 schools.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Robert Garson said his trip had nothing to do with the proposed lawsuit, but that they "may have spoken about antisemitism at the BBC".

Read more on BBC

I consider it my civic duty to fight antisemitism and help preserve the memory of the Holocaust.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 39-year-old Christian conservative has opened investigations into law firms’ diversity practices and universities’ handling of antisemitism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 330-capacity venue said it had implemented compulsory antisemitism training for senior management and had made a donation to the Community Security Trust, which seeks to protect British Jews from antisemitism.

Read more on BBC