'antinaturalist' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with the modern English word 'naturalist' (from 'naturalism'), where 'natural' traces to Latin 'natura' meaning 'birth, nature', and the agent suffix '-ist' from Greek/Latin meaning 'one who practices or is concerned with'.

'naturalist' developed from Latin 'naturalis' (from 'natura') through Old French 'naturel' and Middle English, and the modern compound 'anti-' + 'naturalist' formed in English to denote opposition to that stance.

Initially the elements meant 'against' + 'one concerned with nature'; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'one who opposes naturalism' or 'opposed to naturalistic explanations' in philosophical contexts.