Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To proclaim an anathema on; curse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To pronounce an anathema against; denounce; curse.
  • To pronounce anathemas; curse.
  • Also spelled anathematise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To pronounce an anathema against; to curse. Hence: To condemn publicly as something accursed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To cause to be, or to declare as, an anathema or evil.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb curse or declare to be evil or anathema or threaten with divine punishment

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Late Latin anathematīzāre, from Greek anathematizein, from anathema, anathemat-, anathema; see anathema.]

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Examples

  • But he began to curse -- "anathematize," or wish himself accursed if what he was now to say was not true. and to swear -- or to take a solemn oath. saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak.

    Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible 1871

  • These same people who anathematize Israel do not march against China for its rape of Tibet, against North Korea for its threatened obliteration of the South, against the Arab nations that have barred other religions from practice and discriminated in vicious and consistent ways against women, homosexuals and dissidents.

    Rabbi David Wolpe: In Israel Debate, These Jews Should Be Ignored Rabbi David Wolpe 2011

  • At Nuremberg, our civilization developed a vehicle to anathematize men imbued with evil.

    Terror on Trial William Shawcross 2012

  • These same people who anathematize Israel do not march against China for its rape of Tibet, against North Korea for its threatened obliteration of the South, against the Arab nations that have barred other religions from practice and discriminated in vicious and consistent ways against women, homosexuals and dissidents.

    Rabbi David Wolpe: In Israel Debate, These Jews Should Be Ignored Rabbi David Wolpe 2011

  • These same people who anathematize Israel do not march against China for its rape of Tibet, against North Korea for its threatened obliteration of the South, against the Arab nations that have barred other religions from practice and discriminated in vicious and consistent ways against women, homosexuals and dissidents.

    Rabbi David Wolpe: In Israel Debate, These Jews Should Be Ignored Rabbi David Wolpe 2011

  • These same people who anathematize Israel do not march against China for its rape of Tibet, against North Korea for its threatened obliteration of the South, against the Arab nations that have barred other religions from practice and discriminated in vicious and consistent ways against women, homosexuals and dissidents.

    Rabbi David Wolpe: In Israel Debate, These Jews Should Be Ignored Rabbi David Wolpe 2011

  • Marginalize, privatize, anathematize: These are the successive goals of gay-marriage advocates when it comes to their opponents.

    On gay marriage, stop playing the hate card Matthew J. Franck 2010

  • Clearly a determined effort is afoot, in cultural bastions controlled by the left, to anathematize traditional views of sexual morality, particularly opposition to same-sex marriage, as the expression of "hate" that cannot be tolerated in a decent civil society.

    On gay marriage, stop playing the hate card Matthew J. Franck 2010

  • The Obama Disconnect was extremely well calculated to call out to those glimmerings, and Micah has chosen to encourage Obama's best instincts rather than anathematize him for going over the the Dark Side of the Force.

    Saul Alinsky on Barack Obama and OFA, via Ralph Benko Sifry, Micah L. 2010

  • The Obama Disconnect was extremely well calculated to call out to those glimmerings, and Micah has chosen to encourage Obama's best instincts rather than anathematize him for going over the the Dark Side of the Force.

    Saul Alinsky on Barack Obama and OFA, via Ralph Benko 2010

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