antipathy
noun
an·tip·a·thy
an-ˈti-pə-thē 
plural 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
Charles Dickens3
obsolete
: opposition in feeling
Synonyms
Examples of antipathy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Its views are not opportunistic or transient; anti-Americanism and antipathy toward Israel are ingrained in the Islamic Republic’s bedrock.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
My antipathy toward team sports has continued into adulthood.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
Israel’s ensuing assault in Gaza, which by Friday had killed more than 26,000 people, has only stirred antipathy toward the Jewish state in progressive cities such as Oakland, where residents often champion the cause of Palestinian liberation and an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2024
Glazer’s anti-aesthetics are part of the current antipathy, whereby bad motives are projected upon others.
—Armond White, National Review, 20 Mar. 2024
And then there’s Tier Three, the most sophisticated tier, where the joke is not so much on Kate or whatever ominous theory has been devised to explain her whereabouts, but on the utter ineptitude of the Royal Family to quell the rising surge of antipathy towards them.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
Given Trump’s antipathy toward NATO and transactional view toward alliances, leaders like Macron have stressed that the burden must fall to Europe to protect itself from any future Russian aggression.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
A lot of the media angst this weekend was undoubtedly driven by antipathy for SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 20 Nov. 2023
Four years later, initially skeptical Tea Partiers embraced Mr. Trump, who, as candidate and president, offered a supercharged version of the movement’s antipathy toward immigrants, fear of a changing country and anti-establishment fervor.
—Charles Homans, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024
Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
My antipathy toward team sports has continued into adulthood.
—Emma Specter, Vogue, 4 Apr. 2024
Israel’s ensuing assault in Gaza, which by Friday had killed more than 26,000 people, has only stirred antipathy toward the Jewish state in progressive cities such as Oakland, where residents often champion the cause of Palestinian liberation and an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
—Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2024
Glazer’s anti-aesthetics are part of the current antipathy, whereby bad motives are projected upon others.
—Armond White, National Review, 20 Mar. 2024
And then there’s Tier Three, the most sophisticated tier, where the joke is not so much on Kate or whatever ominous theory has been devised to explain her whereabouts, but on the utter ineptitude of the Royal Family to quell the rising surge of antipathy towards them.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
Given Trump’s antipathy toward NATO and transactional view toward alliances, leaders like Macron have stressed that the burden must fall to Europe to protect itself from any future Russian aggression.
—Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
A lot of the media angst this weekend was undoubtedly driven by antipathy for SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 20 Nov. 2023
Four years later, initially skeptical Tea Partiers embraced Mr. Trump, who, as candidate and president, offered a supercharged version of the movement’s antipathy toward immigrants, fear of a changing country and anti-establishment fervor.
—Charles Homans, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antipathy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near antipathy
Cite this Entry
“Antipathy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antipathy. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
antipathy
noun
an·tip·a·thy
an-ˈtip-ə-thē
plural antipathies
1
: a strong dislike
2
: a person or thing that arouses strong dislike
antipathetic
adjective
ˌant-i-pə-ˈthet-ik
Medical Definition
antipathy
noun
an·tip·a·thy
an-ˈtip-ə-thē
plural antipathies
1
: settled aversion or dislike
2
: an object of aversion
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share