'anticonformity' originates from modern English, formed by the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') combined with the noun 'conformity' (from Latin 'conformitas').

'conformity' derives from Latin 'conformitas' (from 'conformare' meaning 'to form together') and passed into Old French as 'conformité' and Middle English as 'conformite'. The productive prefix 'anti-' (Greek 'anti') was attached in modern English to create 'anti-conformity' (often hyphenated), which later appears as the solid compound 'anticonformity'.

Initially the elements simply meant 'against' + 'forming together'; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'opposition to social conformity' and is used to describe the attitude or practice of resisting norms.