1
as in curse
a prayer that harm will come to someone
uttered an anathema before driving the would-be robber from the his shop
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in enemy
something or someone that is hated
the use of animals in the testing of cosmetics is anathema to animal-rights activists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anathema
At first blush, Walliser’s background seems anathema to how many people perceive the modern Bentley brand.
—
Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 23 Nov. 2024
That’s prompting both candidates to take stances that would have once been anathema to their bases, scrambling longtime assumptions about what each party stands for.
—Steve Peoples, The Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2024
There was friction over H1-B work visas that Trump's core populists consider anathema but that his backers in the tech world depend on.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 1 Feb. 2025
For many decades, the idea that Oklahoma is allowed to fund a religious school — much less that it is required to do so — was considered anathema to the Constitution.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anathema
Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 23 Nov. 2024
That’s prompting both candidates to take stances that would have once been anathema to their bases, scrambling longtime assumptions about what each party stands for.
—Steve Peoples, The Denver Post, 23 Sep. 2024
There was friction over H1-B work visas that Trump's core populists consider anathema but that his backers in the tech world depend on.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 1 Feb. 2025
For many decades, the idea that Oklahoma is allowed to fund a religious school — much less that it is required to do so — was considered anathema to the Constitution.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anathema
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anathema
Noun
-
The Chinese Communist Party is a curse upon the earth.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Finishing fifth — or even fourth, as Liverpool managed last season — has historically been a bit of a curse, with teams struggling to build on their successes.—
Jessy Parker Humphreys,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Republicans are comparably less inclined to see it as an enemy than are Americans overall.—
Anthony Salvanto,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2025
-
Cozzi, from Rush University Medical Center, described the MMR vaccine as a shield and measles as an enemy trying to pierce the shield with arrows.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Over the years, however, her devil-may-care approach has mutated into an inability to accept any criticism, real or imagined, and view it as unfounded hate or maliciousness against the chaos of her life.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Finally, there was some hate as Canada and the United States, two longtime hockey rivals, met in the winner-take-all final.—
Curtis Pashelka,
The Mercury News,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Their power play has been an abomination for a few years now.—
Arthur Staple,
The Athletic,
12 Feb. 2025
-
Biden had called the warrants an abomination, and Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has accused the court of having an antisemitic bias.—
Darlene Superville,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Stirring up antipathy is always going to be an occupational hazard for people who study misinformation, rumors, pseudoscience and quackery.—
F.D. Flam,
The Mercury News,
17 Oct. 2024
-
During Donald Trump's first four years in office, Kennedy Center officials were forced to walk a public tightrope between the tradition of the president attending the ceremony and the open antipathy toward Trump from multiple honorees.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Tolin doesn’t candy coat the animosity, helping children to understand how artists and Others continue to be misunderstood and how that lack of appreciation fuels abhorrence.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
-
One point that has been made is that President Trump, like President Reagan before him, has an abhorrence of nuclear weapons and would like to pursue a policy of denuclearization.—
David Szondy,
New Atlas,
6 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This phobia can be addressed with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy guided by a professional.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Similarly, a 2019 study in JAMA Psychiatry followed 579 New Zealand children over three decades and found that children exposed to lead were more likely to grow up to have anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, or substance abuse issues.—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi,
Discover Magazine,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Much of Trump’s detestation of the Hollywood establishment is of course performative, one more nemesis to cast in his Sorkinian screenplay.—
Steven Zeitchik,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019
-
Between the lines: Many undecideds are painfully trying to balance their sense of obligation with their detestation for Trump, as USA Today first detailed on Thursday.—
Erin Doherty,
Axios,
14 Dec. 2024
Articles Related to anathema
Cite this Entry
“Anathema.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anathema. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share