'anticeremonialist' originates from Modern English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with 'ceremonialist'—itself from 'ceremonial' + the agent suffix '-ist', where 'ceremony' ultimately comes from Latin 'ceremonia' meaning a religious rite.

'anticeremonialist' was created by combining 'anti-' with 'ceremonialist'; 'ceremonialist' arose from Middle English 'ceremonial' (via Old French 'ceremonial' and Latin 'ceremonia'), and the suffix '-ist' produced 'ceremonialist', which in modern English yielded the compound 'anticeremonialist'.

Initially the parts meant 'against' (anti-) and 'pertaining to rites or ceremonies' (ceremony); over time they combined into the specific modern sense 'a person opposed to ceremonialism or formal ritual.'