anathema
noun/əˈnæθəmə/
Etymology Borrowed from Late Latin anathema (“curse, person cursed, offering”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀνάθεμα (anáthema, “something dedicated, especially dedicated to eternal damnation”), from ἀνατίθημι (anatíthēmi, “to set upon, offer as a votive gift”), from ἀνά (aná, “upon”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”). The Ancient Greek term was influenced by Hebrew חרם (herem), leading to the sense of "accursed," especially in Ecclesiastical writers.
Ecclesiastical, Lifestyle, Religion Historical A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed.
Broadly Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody.
- Even three years ago, the thought of spending two hours, let alone a whole day, without my mobile would have been anathema.2015 January 18, Monty Munford, “What’s the point of carrying a mobile phone nowadays?”, in The Daily Telegraph:
- The actor, who prizes mystery, hated being gossip fodder. “That was anathema to him,” said his sister Martha Fiennes, a filmmaker, “and he just hated the curiosity into his life.”2022 October 22, Maureen Dowd, “Ralph Fiennes, Master of Monsters”, in The New York Times:
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- To law enforcement officers injured in the Jan. 6 mayhem, as well as members of Congress and others present in the Capitol that day who feared for their lives, such adulation for convicted rioters is not only misguided but also anathema to a civilized society.2025 January 15, Linda Feldmann, “Outside the DC jail, where Jan. 6 rage and devotion live on”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
Literary An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
- I trembled at his ringing wealth Of manifold anathemas […]1920, Edward Arlington Robinson, “The Wandering Jew”, in The Three Taverns:
- That was a curse from which no flight was possible: the anathema of a man who had once known holiness.2002, Joseph O'Conner, Star of the Sea, Vintage, published 2003, page 30:
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- “Assumptions are anathema to communication.” “You're anathema. Fine, all right, I messed up. I guess I'll go break her stupid heart since that's what you all seem to want.”2024 October 31, Stephanie Amante-Ritter, “The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel” (6:00 from the start), in Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 5, episode 3, spoken by T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz):
Ecclesiastical, Lifestyle, Religion Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority to unending punishment.
- If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Corinthians 16:22:
- Ἆνάθεμα, accurẛed, חרם, which the Septuagint renders Anathema, ẛignifies Perẛons or Things devoted to Deẛtruction and Extermination. The Jewiẛh Nation were now an Anathema, deẛtin'd to Deẛtruction. St. Paul to expreẛs his Affection to them, ẛays, he could wiẛh to ẛave them from it, to become an Anathema and be deẛtroy'd himẛelf.1707, John Locke, “The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans”, in An Essay for Understanding St. Paul's Epistles, by Consulting St. Paul Himself, Section VIII:
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- If any one refuses to confess that the Word of God the Father is united in hypostasis to flesh, and is one Christ with His own flesh, the same being at once both God and man, let him be anathema.1885, “The Anathemas of Cyril in Opposition to Nestorius”, in Philip Schaff, editor, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (II), volume III:
- Derived terms
- anathematic, anathematism, anathematize, anathemic, anathemize