anathematize
/əˈnæ.θə.mə.taɪz/
"anathematize" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“anathematize” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause to be, or to declare as, an anathema or evil.
Corpus desk
Index EN-anathematize · anathematize · English
anathematize · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | anathematize |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈnæ.θə.mə.taɪz/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “anathematize” in English
Rare enough to double-check
anathematize is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /əˈnæ.θə.mə.taɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To cause to be, or to declare as, an anathema or evil.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for anathematize, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From anathema + -ize; the -t- is part of the root of the underlying Greek word ἀνάθεμα (anáthema) (albeit not visible in the nominative singular form), which also explains the plural anathemata and other derivations from anathema such as anathematic. The correct English form is anathematize, spelled A-N-A-T-H-E-M-A-T-I-Z-E.
Definition
- 1To cause to be, or to declare as, an anathema or evil.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how anathematize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
These are the fellows that some officers never pretend to damn, however much they may anathematize others.
Rowdy had been heard, more than once lately, to anathematize viciously the prairie-dogs for standing on their tails and chip-chip-chipping at them as they went by.
Etymology
From anathema + -ize; the -t- is part of the root of the underlying Greek word ἀνάθεμα (anáthema) (albeit not visible in the nominative singular form), which also explains the plural anathemata and other derivations from anathema such as anathematic.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.