anathema
Plural: anathemas, anathemata
Noun
- Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
- a detested person
- "he is an anathema to me"
- a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication
- A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, often accompanied by excommunication; something denounced as accursed.
- Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody.
- An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
- Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority to unending punishment.
Examples
- For a purist, using an anagram solver is anathema to the spirit of the game.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin anathema (“curse, person cursed, offering”), itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀνάθεμα (anáthema, “something dedicated, especially dedicated to eternal damnation”), from ἀνατίθημι (anatíthēmi, “I set upon, offer as a votive gift”), from ἀνά (aná, “upon”) + τίθημι (títhēmi, “I put, place”). The Ancient Greek term was influenced by Hebrew חרם (herem), leading to the sense of "accursed," especially in Ecclesiastical writers.
Scrabble Score: 13
anathema: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordanathema: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
anathema: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 14
anathema: valid Words With Friends Word