anti-medicine
|an-ti-med-i-cine|
/ˌæntiˈmɛdɪsɪn/
against medicine
Etymology
'anti-medicine' is a compound formed from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' meaning 'against') and 'medicine' (from Latin 'medicina', related to 'medicus' and 'mederi', meaning 'physician' / 'to heal').
'anti-' entered English via Latin and French from Greek 'antí' and was productive as a prefix; 'medicine' came into English from Old French 'medecine' and Latin 'medicina'. The compound 'anti-medicine' is a modern English formation combining those two elements to mean 'against medicine' or 'opposed to medical treatment'.
Initially the parts meant 'against' + 'healing/medical practice', and over time the compound has been used both for literal pharmacological senses (an agent that opposes a medicine) and for social/ideological senses (opposition to medical treatment or institutions).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a substance or agent that counteracts or neutralizes the effect of a medicine (similar to 'antidote' or 'antagonist' in pharmacology).
The lab discovered an anti-medicine that reduces the drug's side effects.
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Noun 2
a position, belief, or movement that is opposed to conventional medical treatment or medical science (a stance of being against medicine).
There has been a rise in anti-medicine sentiment in some communities, leading people to refuse proven treatments.
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Adjective 1
opposed to conventional medical treatment or practices; hostile toward mainstream medicine.
His anti-medicine views led him to seek alternative therapies instead of surgery.
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Last updated: 2025/11/04 18:21