anti-institutional
|an-ti-in-sti-tu-tion-al|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.ɪn.stɪˈtuː.ʃə.nəl/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.ɪn.stɪˈtjuː.ʃ(ə)nəl/
against established institutions
Etymology
'anti-institutional' is a compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') and 'institutional' (from 'institution' + '-al'), where 'anti-' means 'against' and 'institutional' relates to an 'established organization or system'.
'Institution' comes from Latin 'institutio' meaning 'a setting up, arrangement' (via Old French 'institution' and Middle English), and the adjectival form 'institutional' developed in modern English by adding the suffix '-al'. The compound 'anti-institutional' is a 20th-century English formation combining 'anti-' with 'institutional' to express opposition to institutions.
Originally the components meant 'against' + 'established arrangement/organization'; over time the compound has been used to describe attitudes, movements, or styles that resist or reject institutional authority and formal structures.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the tendency or ideology of being opposed to institutions (when used as a stem in the noun form 'anti-institutionalism').
Anti-institutionalism within the movement led members to reject formal leadership roles.
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Adjective 1
opposed to, distrustful of, or hostile toward established institutions, their authority, or conventional organizational structures.
Her anti-institutional attitudes made it difficult for her to accept rules set by the university administration.
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Last updated: 2025/10/20 17:14