anti-shipping
|an-ti-ship-ping|
/ˌæn.tiˈʃɪp.ɪŋ/
against a (fandom) pairing
Etymology
'anti-shipping' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against') combined with 'shipping', where 'ship' is modern fandom slang short for 'relationship' and 'shipping' is the gerund form used to mean supporting or pairing characters.
'relationship' was shortened in fandom slang to 'ship', then 'shipping' became common to mean promoting or pairing characters; combining the prefix 'anti-' with 'shipping' produced the modern compound 'anti-shipping'.
Initially, 'shipping' could be interpreted literally as the act of sending/transporting goods ('shipping'), but within fandom 'ship' came to mean a romantic pairing; consequently 'anti-shipping' evolved to mean opposition to fictional pairings rather than opposition to transportation.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the position or stance of opposing a particular fictional romantic pairing (a 'ship') in fandom communities; people who hold this stance.
There was a lot of anti-shipping in the thread after the episode aired.
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Noun 2
general opposition within a fandom to pairing characters romantically or supporting fan-created relationships.
The convention panel discussed the rise of anti-shipping across several fandoms.
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Verb 1
to oppose or argue against a specific ship (informal usage).
Some fans actively anti-ship that couple on social media.
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Adjective 1
describing a person, statement, or action that expresses opposition to a specific ship (e.g., an anti-shipping comment).
She posted an anti-shipping message criticizing the pairing's dynamics.
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Last updated: 2025/11/22 06:14