anti-lynching

adjective

an·​ti-lynch·​ing
ˌan-tē-ˈlin-chiŋ,
ˌan-tī- How to pronounce anti-lynching (audio)
: serving or intended to prevent or punish lynching
anti-lynching laws

Examples of anti-lynching in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web DuBois also pays close attention to Black women suffragists, especially Terrell and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, whose anti-lynching work should not obscure her contributions to the women’s rights movement. Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2020 Core to her anti-lynching crusade was the evisceration of the rape myth, exploding the idea that lynching was always retribution for assaults on white Southern womanhood. Faron Levesque, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2024 Throughout her life, Walker supported other civil rights efforts, including donating $5,000 to the NAACP's anti-lynching efforts. The Indianapolis Star, 13 Aug. 2016 Calvin Coolidge likewise supported the anti-lynching law and presided over a dramatic national decline in lynchings, reversing the trend line of anti-black violence that had crested during and immediately after Wilson’s tenure in office. Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 Wells was an outspoken critic of segregation, an anti-lynching advocate and also prominent fighter for Black women’s suffrage. Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 19 Oct. 2023 In one hallway, she’s hung the portraits of former first ladies of Illinois, including Cora Tanner, an outspoken abolitionist and anti-lynching activist. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2023 During her journalism career, Wells published her anti-lynching writing in the New York Age, A Red Record, the Chicago Conservator (which her husband founded) and other local journals. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2023 The group opposed anti-lynching legislation, unlike most Black organizations, and received support from Southern white politicians, not least because a narrow definition allowed politicians to declare that the era of lynchings was over. Eric Herschthal, The New Republic, 23 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anti-lynching.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of anti-lynching was in 1885

Dictionary Entries Near anti-lynching

Cite this Entry

“Anti-lynching.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-lynching. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!