antipathy

noun

an·​tip·​a·​thy an-ˈti-pə-thē 

plural antipathies

1

: a strong feeling of dislike

an antipathy to taxes

a deep antipathy between the groups

2

: something disliked : an object of aversion

… perhaps his greatest antipathies were cabs, old women, doors that would not shut …

—Charles Dickens

3

obsolete : opposition in feeling

Synonyms

• animosity
• animus
• antagonism
• bad blood
• bitterness
• enmity
• gall
• grudge
• hostility
• jaundice
• rancor

Choose the Right Synonym for antipathy

enmity, hostility, antipathy, antagonism, animosity, rancor, animus mean deep-seated dislike or ill will.

enmity suggests positive hatred which may be open or concealed.

an unspoken enmity

hostility suggests an enmity showing itself in attacks or aggression.

hostility between the two nations

antipathy and antagonism imply a natural or logical basis for one's hatred or dislike, antipathy suggesting repugnance, a desire to avoid or reject, and antagonism suggesting a clash of temperaments leading readily to hostility.

a natural antipathy for self-seekers

antagonism between the brothers

animosity suggests intense ill will and vindictiveness that threaten to kindle hostility.

animosity that led to revenge

rancor is especially applied to bitter brooding over a wrong.

rancor filled every line of his letters

animus adds to animosity the implication of strong prejudice.

objections devoid of personal animus

Examples of antipathy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This antipathy to an alien influx is exacerbated by preaching from the domestic Left that Western culture is squalid, hypocritical, racist, and wrong. —Hugo Gurdon, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 June 2024

German fans have an antipathy to foreign investment, unlike, say, Newcastle United fans who donned makeshift Arabic dress when the club was taken over by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. —David Hellier, Bloomberg.com, 14 June 2024

He was enrolled at London School of Economics during a period of student unrest; his radical ideas prompted him to reject an establishment education and take a job washing dishes at Nippon, a Japanese restaurant frequented almost exclusively by Japanese customers due to lingering postwar antipathy. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 June 2024

Post-Soviet Russia has a long history of meddling in post-Soviet Georgia, and most Georgians retain a deep antipathy to Moscow. —Thomas De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin antipathia, from Greek antipatheia, from antipathēs of opposite feelings, from anti- + pathos experience — more at pathos

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

antipathy

noun

an·​tip·​a·​thy an-ˈtip-ə-thē 

plural antipathies

1

: a strong dislike

2

: a person or thing that arouses strong dislike

antipathetic

ˌant-i-pə-ˈthet-ik

adjective

Medical Definition

antipathy

noun

an·​tip·​a·​thy an-ˈtip-ə-thē 

plural antipathies

1

: settled aversion or dislike

2

: an object of aversion

antipathic

ˌant-i-ˈpath-ik 

adjective