Daniel J. Singal
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Animus has long referred to the rational or animating components of a person's psyche (it derives from Latin animus, which can mean "spirit," "mind," "courage," or "anger"). Since a key animating component of personality can be temper, the word came to mean animosity, especially ill will that is driven by strong prejudice. The term is also used in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung in reference to an inner masculine part of the female personality. The English animus is closely related to words such as animosity, magnanimous, and unanimous, but it is not as closely related to other similar-looking terms such as animal and animate. Those latter terms derive from the Latin anima, a distinct term that means "soul" or "breath" and that suggests someone's physical vitality or life force—the breath of life.
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Examples of animus in a Sentence
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2024
Trump’s animus toward wind energy — surpassing even his loathing for California — dates from a losing battle a decade ago, when Scotland’s regional government built an 11-turbine wind farm in Aberdeen Bay near one of his golf courses.
—Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
Surprisingly, in a close election year, marked by animus from one political party to the next, the economic news has taken a back seat to other issues deemed more worrisome.
—Joel Shulman, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
If told the truth—that a typical member of the opposite party actually holds moderate views and talks about politics only occasionally—the animus dissolved into indifference.
—Karl Vick, TIME, 2 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Animus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animus. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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animus
noun
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