'antievolutional' originates from Modern English, specifically the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-') meaning 'against' combined with 'evolutional' (from Latin 'evolutio') meaning 'unrolling' or 'development'.

'antievolutional' was formed in Modern English by joining 'anti-' + 'evolutional'. 'Evolutional' derives from Late Latin 'evolutionalis', from Latin 'evolutio' (past participle stem of 'evolvere', 'to unroll'), which entered English as 'evolution' in the 17th–18th centuries; the adjective 'evolutional' followed from this noun.

Initially it simply meant 'against evolution' as a literal combination of 'anti-' and 'evolutional'; this core meaning has remained stable, generally applied to opposition to evolutionary theory or processes.