Definition of antipathy
antipathies
1 : a strong feeling of dislike an antipathy to taxes a deep antipathy between the groups
2 : something disliked : an object of aversion … perhaps his greatest antipathies were cabs, old women, doors that would not shut … — Charles Dickens
3 obsolete : opposition in feeling
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Recent Examples of antipathy from the Web
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Donald J. Trump won, and his interest in defending the executive branch against the House lawsuit was nonexistent given his antipathy for the health care law.
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The antipathy toward Trump is not restricted to Germany.
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How can such a toxic cloud of antipathy ever be vented?
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Democrats have no interest in maintaining Americans’ antipathy for the IRS, or accelerating the growth of income inequality.
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The ability to generate public antipathy to Israel can therefore reshape Israeli relations with countries critical to Israel.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antipathy'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
When the nation of Yugoslavia was created in 1945, it combined a number of ethnic groups with a history of violent antipathy toward each other. In 1991–92 four regions of the country announced that they would become independent nations; a bloody six-year war followed, fueled by these ancient and powerful antipathies. The American Civil War similarly resulted from antipathy between the North and the South. But in the U.S.'s relations with its next-door neighbors, it's been a long time since emotions have gotten much stronger than annoyance.
Origin and Etymology of antipathy
Latin antipathia, from Greek antipatheia, from antipathēs of opposite feelings, from anti- + pathos experience — more at pathos
First Known Use: 1592
Synonym Discussion of antipathy
ANTIPATHY Defined for Kids
antipathy
playDefinition of antipathy for Students
antipathies
: a strong feeling of dislike
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about antipathy
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for antipathy Spanish Central: Translation of antipathy Nglish: Translation of antipathy for Spanish speakers
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