Added 9 October 2026
antipathy
/ænˈtɪpəθi/ noun
Latin root: antipathīa Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about antipathy at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Often followed by against, between, for, or to: a (deep) feeling of dislike or repugnance, normally towards a person and less often towards a thing, often without any conscious reasoning; aversion, distaste, hostility; an instance of this.
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Natural contrariety or incompatibility between things, as a result of which they negatively affect or oppose each other; an instance of this.
Oil and water have antipathy.
- A person or thing that one has a (deep) feeling of dislike or repugnance towards; an anathema, a bête noire, a bugbear.
Origin
PIE word *h₂énti Borrowed from Middle French antipathie (“deep dislike; object of dislike; incompatibility between things”) (modern French antipathie (“dislike, antipathy”)), and from its etymon Latin antipathīa (“counteraction; natural aversion, antipathy”), from Ancient Greek ἀντῐπάθειᾰ (antĭpátheiă, “suffering instead”), Koine Greek ἀντῐπάθειᾰ (antĭpátheiă, “contrary affection; contrast; counteraction; opposition”), from ἀντῐπᾰθής (antĭpăthḗs, “(adjective) felt mutually; in return for suffering; (noun) remedy for suffering”) (from ἀντι- (anti-, prefix meaning ‘against’) + πᾰ́θος (pắthos, “death; disaster; misfortune; pain; suffering; strong feeling, emotion, passion, pathos”) (further ety.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)