anti-institutional

adjective

an·​ti-in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al
ˌan-tē-ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-sh(ə-)nəl,
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-institutional (audio)
: characterized by or expressing opposition toward institutions
… the anti-institutional protests of the civil rights movement.Adam Fairclough

Examples of anti-institutional in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
His message—brash, conspiratorial, and anti-institutional—continues to resonate with a large segment of the population. Veronica Anghel, Foreign Affairs, 21 May 2025 Both Netanyahu and Orban are aligned with a broader anti-institutional movement led by U.S. President Donald Trump. Lee Habeeb, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Apr. 2025 Increasingly, Levin noted, anti-corporate and anti-institutional subcultures operate across the ideological spectrum. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024 Unlike his father, who could be reflexively countercultural and anti-institutional, Ras Baraka has been running for office for most of his life. Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 Sign up The anti-institutional unschooling ideology is rooted in the doctrine of eighth century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed children should be free to explore their own interests. Theara Coleman, theweek, 11 July 2024 In the Seventies, the country was in a populist, libertarian mood and receptive to anti-institutional grandstanding. Ian MacDougall, Harper's Magazine, 12 Sep. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anti-institutional was in 1836

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Cite this Entry

“Anti-institutional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-institutional. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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