Countermovement

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A social or political campaign organized to oppose and push back against an existing movement with opposite aims
2. An opposing drive or group formed in reaction to a rival movement and working to reverse its goals
3. Organized resistance mounted by one movement against the aims and momentum of another movement

Etymology: The word is simply counter- plus movement, and the parts carry their own histories. "Movement" came into English from Old French "movement," itself built from "movoir" (to move) and the Latin suffix "-mentum," which turns a verb into a noun for the result or means of an action. "Counter-" is older still: it descends from Latin "contrā," meaning "against" or "opposite," which entered English through Anglo-Norman "countre-" and then Middle English "counter-." Its sense of "in opposition" is the same idea the Romans packed into "contrā," long before anyone was organizing protests. Put the two halves together and the compound's logic is transparent: a movement pushing against another movement. Because "counter-" is a productive prefix in English, it can attach to nearly any noun describing a collective effort, which is why the formation feels so natural. No one coined it as a single deliberate invention; it was assembled from parts already in use, which is typical of English compounds built on a productive prefix.

Synonyms: backlash, counter-campaign