Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Relating to or characterized by anti-Semitism: This describes anything connected to the prejudice, hostility, or discrimination against Jewish people as a religious, ethnic, or racial group.
   • Hating Jews: Expressing or holding antagonistic beliefs, feelings, or actions directed specifically at Jewish people.

Usage

• The adjective "anti-semitic" is used to describe ideas, actions, individuals, groups, or materials that exhibit or promote anti-Semitism.
• It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb).
• The term carries a strong negative connotation and is used to identify and condemn prejudice.

Examples

• Attributive use:
  • The politician was accused of making anti-semitic remarks during the rally.
  • The organization published a report on combating anti-semitic propaganda online.
• Predicative use:
  • His comments were widely condemned as deeply anti-semitic.
  • Such conspiracy theories are fundamentally anti-semitic.

Advanced Usage

• "anti-semitic trope": A common, recurring theme or motif in anti-semitic discourse, such as harmful stereotypes about power, money, or loyalty.
  • The cartoon relied on an old anti-semitic trope to make its point.
• "structurally anti-semitic": Referring to policies, laws, or social systems that disadvantage Jewish people, whether intentionally or not.
  • Critics argued that the policy, while neutral on its face, was structurally anti-semitic in its effects.

Variants and Related Words

• Anti-Semitism (noun): The prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed against Jewish people.
  • The lecture focused on the history of anti-Semitism in Europe.
• Anti-Semite (noun): A person who holds anti-semitic views or engages in anti-semitic behavior.
  • He was exposed as a notorious anti-Semite.

Synonyms

• Jew-hating: (Direct and less formal synonym)
• Judeophobic: (Formal, less common synonym with the same core meaning)

Notes on Meaning and Spelling

• The primary meaning is specifically prejudice against Jewish people. It is not a general term for racism or prejudice against other groups.
• The most common modern spelling is anti-semitic (with a hyphen) or antisemitic (without a hyphen). Both forms are widely accepted, though some scholars and institutions prefer "antisemitic" to avoid the implication of a "Semitic" people that the hyphenated term might incorrectly suggest.

Adjective

1. relating to or characterized by anti-Semitism; hating Jews