anathemize

A1N1A1T1H4E1M3I1Z10E1

verb

To declare to be anathema; to curse and reject.

Scrabble 24

Meanings

verbanathemize (third-person singular simple present anathemizes, present participle anathemizing, simple past and past participle anathemized)

present singular third person anathemizes · participle present anathemizing · participle past anathemized · past anathemized · alternative anathemise

  1. To declare to be anathema; to curse and reject.

    What does Augustine want done? He invites Felix to anathemize Mani — but adds, ' magnanimously, ' that no one will compel him to do so. Of course Augustine had just threatened from his cathedra, surrounded by his faithful, to anathemize Felix — with grave possible consequences.

    1972, Augustinian Studies - Volumes 3-5, page 202
    2 more examples

    We anathemize all those who say that man can be without sin, if he wants to, without the help of God; we anathemize those who say that death does not come through Adam and that life does not come through Christ; we anathemize those who say that one who is born from two baptized parents does not need to be baptaized;

    2009, Guido Stucco, God's Eternal Gift, page 674

    Likewise, jihadists – Muslim fundamentalists who advocate armed struggle against what they perceive as Islam's enemies – anathemize the secular West, all it stands for, and its inhabitants as well, while secular Westerners express an analogous sentiment, in words and deeds, toward the miltant followers of Muhammad.

    2015, Erich Goode, The Handbook of Deviance, page 20

    Synonyms: anathematize

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo declare to be anathema; to curse and reject.

More synonyms by meaning

verbwish harm upon; invoke evil upon

verbcurse or declare to be evil or anathema or threaten with divine punishment

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

anathemize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anathemize

MLA

“anathemize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anathemize. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anathemize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anathemize.

Source: anathemize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.