ANATHEMA

Dictionary Definition

Definition of ANATHEMA

1

a : one that is cursed by ecclesiastical authorityb : someone or something intensely disliked or loathed —usually used as a predicate nominative <this notion wasanathema to most of his countrymen — S. J. Gould>

2

a : a ban or curse solemnly pronounced by ecclesiastical authority and accompanied by excommunicationb : the denunciation of something as accursedc : a vigorous denunciation : curse

Examples of ANATHEMA

1. a politician who is anathema to conservatives
2. ideas that are an anathema to me
3. Maugham was not only prolific but also a best-seller, though snobs dismissed his work as middlebrow (a category that few people worry about in our day but that once was anathema). —Edmund White, New York Review of Books, 12 Feb. 2009

What do I think?: I think that this is a situational word. A formal word that at some time became a coloquial word. It is also a strong word.

What do I feel?: I'm not sure what I feel about this word. If anything I feel distant. Yet close. I feel like I could be something of an anathema to my parents. I'm sure every teenager feels like that at times.

 

How can I use this word?: I'm not sure. It seems really specific and strong. Any use of it would really be hyperbolic rather than genuine. I'm not sure if that is a bad or good thing. I know Hemingway would beat me over the head with it.

How will I explain this word to others?: I'd say that it is something akin to an extremely strong pet peeve. 

Words

So I've fallen behind on my writing. I've mostly been posting random emotional crap. Which apparently isn't that interesting. So I'm starting a new side project.

Word Smithing


I want to pick apart the words that I use, put some new ones in there. I want to examine them, I want to look at them and ask myself what does the dictionary say, what do I think, what do I feel, how can I use this word, how will I explain this word to others?

I always complain that english sucks because we don't have the right words. Well what if we aren't using all the words we have. I'm challenging myself to write at least three posts a week about three different words.