animus

C2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /ˈæn.ɪ.məs/ UK /ˈæn.ɪ.məs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
strong hostility or ill feeling

He felt an animus against his former colleague.
2

noun
in Jungian psychology, the unconscious masculine aspect of a woman's psyche

Jung described the animus as the inner masculine side within a woman.
3

noun
the motivation or purpose behind an action

The animus behind the decision was questioned.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · strong hostility or ill... enmity hostility animosity antipathyrancor

2 noun · in jungian psychology, the... inner malemasculine selfmale archetype

3 noun · the motivation or purpose... intent drive purpose motivation aim

Opposites

goodwill affection amity benevolence

Etymology

Directly from Latin animus ('mind, spirit, courage'), adopted into Modern English with the developed sense of 'hostility, ill will' (and a specialized Jungian psychological sense).

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# animus

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈæn.ɪ.məs
**IPA (UK):** ˈæn.ɪ.məs

## Meanings
1. strong hostility or ill feeling
2. in Jungian psychology, the unconscious masculine aspect of a woman's psyche
3. the motivation or purpose behind an action

## Examples
- He felt an animus against his former colleague.
- Jung described the animus as the inner masculine side within a woman.
- The animus behind the decision was questioned.

## Synonyms
- enmity
- hostility
- animosity
- antipathy
- rancor
- inner male
- masculine self
- male archetype
- intent
- drive
- purpose
- motivation

## Antonyms
- goodwill
- affection
- amity
- benevolence

## Etymology
Directly from Latin animus ('mind, spirit, courage'), adopted into Modern English with the developed sense of 'hostility, ill will' (and a specialized Jungian psychological sense).

## AI Etymology
Animus is directly from Latin animus ('mind, spirit, courage'), adopted into Modern English with the developed sense of 'hostility, ill will' (and a specialized Jungian psychological sense). In current use it is a noun meaning "strong hostility or ill feeling". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The semantic development is therefore important as well as the form: the word moves from the older concrete, technical, or literal setting into the present figurative or specialized sense.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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animus

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