anathema Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a detested person
    bete noire.
    • he is an anathema to me
  2. noun a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication

WordNet

A*nath"e*ma noun
Etymology
L. anathma, fr. Gr. anything devoted, esp. to evil, a curse; also L. anathma, fr. Gr. a votive offering; all fr. to set up as a votive gift, dedicate; up + to set. See Thesis.
Wordforms
plural Anathemas
Definitions
  1. A ban or curse pronounced with religious solemnity by ecclesiastical authority, and accompanied by excommunication. Hence: Denunciation of anything as accursed.
    [They] denounce anathemas against unbelievers. Priestley.
  2. An imprecation; a curse; a malediction.
    Finally she fled to London followed by the anathemas of both [families]. Thackeray.
  3. Any person or thing anathematized, or cursed by ecclesiastical authority.
    The Jewish nation were an anathema destined to destruction. St. Paul . . . says he could wish, to save them from it, to become an anathema, and be destroyed himself. Locke.

Webster 1913