What does antiscientific mean?
Antiscientific is an adjective describing opposition to science, whether as active hostility toward scientific institutions and methods or as a disregard for established scientific evidence. It derives from the prefix anti- (against) combined with scientific, itself rooted in the Latin scientia, meaning knowledge. The word appears most often in formal and journalistic contexts, where it carries a strongly critical connotation: to label a position antiscientific is to condemn it as irrational or willfully ignorant. It is commonly applied in debates over climate change, vaccination, evolution, and public health policy, where it characterizes rhetoric, attitudes, or policies that reject expert consensus. Related terms include unscientific, which denotes work that simply fails to meet scientific standards without implying hostility, and pseudoscientific, which describes claims that imitate science's form while lacking its substance. Antiscientific thus occupies the strongest end of this spectrum, naming an outright antagonism toward the scientific enterprise rather than mere error or sloppiness.
adjectiveOpposed to, hostile toward, or inconsistent with science and the scientific method; characterized by a rejection of scientific evidence or reasoning.
- Opposed to or hostile toward science, scientists, or the scientific method.
- Inconsistent with, or rejecting of, established scientific evidence or reasoning.
"The senator's antiscientific stance on climate change drew sharp criticism from the research community."
"Critics accused the policy of resting on antiscientific assumptions about vaccine safety."
"Her antiscientific refusal to accept radiocarbon dating undermined the entire argument."
The prefix 'anti-' turns one of humanity's most trusted tools into its target — 'antiscientific' names the rare stance of being against knowing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of antiscientific
Antiscientific is formed from the prefix anti-, borrowed from Greek via Latin, meaning 'against' or 'opposed to,' attached to scientific, an adjective derived from Latin scientia ('knowledge'), the root of the English word science. The compound follows a common English pattern of forming opposites by prefixation, much like antithetical or antisocial. As a modern formation, it emerged alongside twentieth-century debates over science's role in public life, and its close relative antiscience developed in parallel as a noun denoting such opposition generally.
Related word forms
How antiscientific is actually used
Primarily used in formal, academic, journalistic, and political discourse, often with a critical or pejorative connotation. It typically characterizes attitudes, movements, or arguments rather than individuals alone, and is frequently deployed in debates over climate change, vaccination, and evolution.
Easily confused with antiscientific
Unscientific describes methods or claims that merely fail to meet scientific standards, whereas antiscientific implies active opposition or hostility to science itself.