Anti-

//ˈænˌti// prefix

Definitions

Prefix
  1. 1
    Against, opposed to. morpheme

    "anti- + abortion → antiabortion"

  2. 2
    Obsolete form of ante-. alt-of, morpheme, obsolete

    "antichamber, antiport, antiroom"

  3. 3
    Counteracting, neutralizing. morpheme

    "anti- + aircraft → antiaircraft"

  4. 4
    The opposite of what is typically expected. morpheme

    "anti- + hero → antihero (“a protagonist who acts in an unheroic manner”)"

  5. 5
    Physically opposite, reverse in position or direction. morpheme

    "anti- + clockwise → anticlockwise"

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    A rival or counterpart to. morpheme

    "anti- + pope → antipope (“a person who claims to be the real pope”)"

  2. 7
    Composed of antimatter. morpheme, particle

    "anti- + electron → antielectron"

  3. 8
    Reacting with immunoglobins found in the specified animal. morpheme

    "anti- + rabbit → antirabbit"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-)der. English anti- From Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-, “against”). Cognate with Old English and- (“against, in return, back, un-”), German ent- (“off, away, un-”). Doublet of ante- and un-.

Etymology 2

Probably largely from association with etymology 1, either in English or in French, although some early formations (especially antichamber) reflect Italian anti-.

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