'antioxygenic' originates from Modern English, formed by the Greek-derived prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'antí' meaning 'against') combined with 'oxygen' (from French 'oxygène', coined from Greek 'oxys' 'sharp/acid' + 'genes' 'producer') plus the adjectival suffix '-ic'.

'antioxygenic' developed as a compound of 'anti-' + 'oxygenic'. 'Oxygen' was coined in the late 18th century (French 'oxygène') and 'oxygenic' later produced to mean 'relating to oxygen' (e.g., 'oxygenic photosynthesis'); the prefixed form 'antioxygenic' arose in modern scientific usage to denote opposition to oxygen's action.

Initially formed to mean simply 'against oxygen' in a literal sense; over time it has been used more specifically in technical contexts to mean 'inhibiting oxidation or oxygen-dependent processes'.