Anathematizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of officially declaring an individual or entity as cursed typically includes both condemnation and formal denunciation in a religious setting
2. A formal act of denouncing someone as evil or unworthy, often accompanied by a religious curse, signifies exclusion from a community
3. The act of denouncing someone or something as accursed typically involves both condemnation and a formal rejection in a spiritual context

Etymology: The Greek "anathema" originally meant something set up or dedicated, such as an offering hung in a temple. Because objects dedicated to a god were set apart from ordinary use, the word drifted toward meaning something devoted to destruction or cursed, and then, in Christian usage, a person formally cut off from the church. The verb built on it in English carries that sense of a solemn, ritual pronouncement that removes someone from the community. The English verb is formed by adding the suffix "-ize" to "anathema," a noun that came into English from Greek through Latin. The "-t-" in the verb comes from the root of the Greek word, which does not appear in its nominative singular form, so "anathematize" keeps a sound that "anathema" itself hides. The same root explains the plural "anathemata" and the adjective "anathematic."

Synonyms: cursing, condemning, denouncing, abjuring, execrating

Antonyms: blessing, approving, sanctifying, praising, endorsing