'anti-intelligentsia' is formed in English by prefixing the negative prefix 'anti-' to the noun 'intelligentsia', where 'anti-' comes from Greek meaning 'against' and 'intelligentsia' names the intellectual class.

'intelligentsia' entered English in the 19th century from Russian 'intelligentsiya', which itself was influenced by Polish 'inteligencja' and ultimately derives from Latin 'intelligens' (present participle of 'intellegere' meaning 'to understand'); the English compound 'anti-intelligentsia' developed later when 'anti-' was attached to express opposition.

Originally, 'intelligentsia' simply designated the intellectual class; over time English speakers used the compound 'anti-intelligentsia' to denote opposition to or hostility toward that class, giving the term a specifically oppositional sense.