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antisocial

UK/ˌæntiˈsəʊʃəl/US/ˌæntiˈsoʊʃəl/
adjectiveB2+2 meaningsOccasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,050 of 15,258neutral

Antisocial means harmful to other people, or simply avoiding their company. The word does both jobs and they are not the same.

The serious sense is about behaviour, and antisocial behaviour is a formal category in British law covering noise, vandalism and intimidation. The mild sense is about temperament, and calling yourself antisocial usually just means you would rather stay in. Psychiatry has antisocial personality disorder, which is a specific diagnosis and not a synonym for shy. American English often writes it without the hyphen, and British English uses both forms.

Definitions of antisocial

  1. 1adjectiveantisocialHarmful or annoying to other people.B2+

    “The council issued a warning about antisocial behaviour.”

  2. 2adjectivewantingNot wanting the company of others.B2

    “He is not rude, just a bit antisocial.”

Where it comes from

  1. Middle French

    social

  2. English

    social

  3. English, today

    antisocial

Built from

  • socius · Latin — a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally
  • sequor · Latin — follow

From anti- + social. social Borrowed from Middle French social. From Middle French social, from Latin sociālis (“of or belonging to a companion or companionship or association, social”), from socius (“a companion, fellow, partner, associate, ally”), from sequor (“follow”). Cognate with English seg (“man, companion, fellow”). More at seg.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Word Building

First appears in chapter 5 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

Related words

the social family

social

antisocial — used about once every 4,196 pages · #9,050 · point at the bar for the others

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