anathematize
verb
Did you know?
When 16th-century English speakers needed a verb meaning "to condemn by anathema" (that is, by an official curse from church authority), anathematize proved to be just the right word. But anathematize didn't originate in English as a combination of the noun anathema and the suffix -ize. Rather, our verb is based on forebears in Late Latin (anathematizare) and Greek (anathematizein). Anathematize can still indicate solemn, formal condemnation, but today it can also have milder applications. The same is true of anathema, which now often means simply "a vigorous denunciation," or more frequently, "something or someone intensely disliked or loathed."
Examples of anathematize in a Sentence
Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 9 Dec. 2020
Still, some people now reflexively anathematize this brilliant novel because its self-justifying, unreliable narrator is a pedophile.
—Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2020
The most serious native challenge to liberalism, made by the slaveholding oligarchy of the Old South, was crushed on the battlefield, and, despite the efforts of an ever-dwindling number of apologists, morally anathematized.
—Park MacDougald, Daily Intelligencer, 27 Feb. 2018
In some ways, the grotesqueries of his persona, rather than anathematizing him to voters, only enhanced his appeal among those wishing for something different.
—Jamelle Bouie, Slate Magazine, 24 Jan. 2017
BuzzFeed was so anathematized that by presser’s end, fellow journalists were picking up their lunch trays and moving to the other side of the cafeteria.
—Will Oremus, Slate Magazine, 12 Jan. 2017
But 33 members of the law faculty published a letter anathematizing her.
—Mona Charen, National Review, 8 Sep. 2017
And if anyone shall be led by his cupidity or arrogance to break this truce, by the authority of God and with the sanction of this Council he shall be anathematized.
—James Carroll, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Anathematize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anathematize. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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