Antireligious

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Expressing opposition to or skepticism about religion and its institutions
2. Demonstrating a lack of belief in or disapproval of religious practices and ideologies
3. Showing hostility or rejection toward religion and its organized forms

Etymology: Antireligious is a plain compound, built from the Greek prefix "anti-", meaning "against" or "opposite to", and the English adjective "religious". Its roots run back to the Proto-Indo-European "h₂ent-", a word for "front" or "opposite", which passed into Ancient Greek as "anti" and then into English as a prefix used to form new words. The prefix is productive in English, so "antireligious" follows the same pattern as older formations such as "antiwar" and "antislavery". The base adjective "religious" supplies the core meaning of relating to religion or its observance, and the prefix turns that into opposition to it. The word therefore describes an attitude of rejection toward religion and its organized institutions, rather than simply an absence of belief.

Synonyms: secular, atheistic

Antonyms: religious, spiritual