'anticeremonial' originates from the combining of the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti', meaning 'against' or 'opposed to') and the adjective 'ceremonial' (from Latin 'ceremonia', meaning 'rite' or 'formal procedure').

'anticeremonial' was formed in modern English by attaching 'anti-' to the existing adjective 'ceremonial'; 'ceremonial' developed into English from Latin 'ceremonia' via Old French 'ceremonie' and Middle English, yielding the modern words 'ceremony' and 'ceremonial'.

Originally 'ceremony' denoted rites and formal procedures; adding 'anti-' produced 'anticeremonial' to express being opposed to or lacking those rites — a sense that has persisted into current usage.