Meanings
comparative more anti-establishment · superlative most anti-establishment · alternative antiestablishment
- Opposed to the existing sociopolitical system (the establishment).
The hippies were noted for their anti-establishment ways, firmly opposed to the order their parents so revered.
1 more example
Almost one-third of Europeans now vote for populist, far-right or far-left parties, research shows, with wide support for anti-establishment politics surging across the continent in an increasingly problematic challenge to the mainstream.
2023 September 21, Jon Henley, “Revealed: one in three Europeans now votes anti-establishment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveopposed to the establishment
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énti
- Ancient Greekᾰ̓ντῐ́ (ăntĭ́)
- Ancient Greekἀντι- (anti-)
- Englishanti-
- Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*sth₂éh₁yeti
- Proto-Italic*staējō
- Proto-Italic*staēō
- Proto-Italic*staðlis?
- Latinstabilis
- Latinstabilīre
- Old Frenchestablir
- Old Frenchestablissement
- Middle Englishstablishment
- Englishestablishment
- Englishanti-establishment
From anti- + establishment.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 反建制, 反正統 /反正统
- 反建制 (fǎnjiànzhì)opposed to the existing system
- 反正統 /反正统 (fǎnzhèngtǒng)opposed to the existing system
Finnish järjestelmänvastainen, systeeminvastainen
- järjestelmänvastainenopposed to the existing system
- systeeminvastainenopposed to the existing system
French antisystème
- antisystèmeopposed to the existing system
Greek αντικαθεστωτικός
- αντικαθεστωτικός (antikathestotikós)opposed to the existing system
Persian ضد جریان حاکم
- ضد جریان حاکمopposed to the existing system
Portuguese antiestabelecimento
- antiestabelecimentoopposed to the existing system
Cite this entry
anti-establishment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anti-establishment
“anti-establishment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anti-establishment. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anti-establishment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anti-establishment.
Source: anti-establishment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.