Antipathetic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌæntɪpəˈθɛtɪk/

Definitions

1. Strongly opposed or having a deep-seated aversion to something or someone
2. Having a natural aversion or strong opposition to something that causes instinctive dislike or resistance
3. Characterized by deep-seated opposition or repugnance that makes one fundamentally unwilling to accept or engage with something

Etymology: Antipathetic is a close cousin of "antipathy," and the two share a Greek ancestor: "antipathes," meaning "opposed in feeling," built from "anti" (against) and "pathos" (feeling, suffering). The Greeks used it to describe things that were mutually repellent, a sense that survives in the English word's emphasis on a deep, instinctive opposition rather than a considered disagreement. The adjective came into English by way of Latin "antipatheticus," which reached it through Greek. Its path into English was therefore a learned one, carried by writers and scholars who drew on classical vocabulary, rather than through everyday speech. Because the form ends in "-etic," it sits alongside many other English adjectives borrowed from Greek with the same ending, which is why it can sound more technical than its close relative "antipathy" even though the two words mean nearly the same thing.

Synonyms: hostile, unfriendly, averse, disapproving, opposed

Antonyms: friendly, welcoming, sympathetic, approving, affectionate