: an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung compare anima
Did you know?
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.
enmity suggests positive hatred which may be open or concealed.
an unspoken enmity
hostility suggests an enmity showing itself in attacks or aggression.
hostility between the two nations
antipathy and antagonism imply a natural or logical basis for one's hatred or dislike, antipathy suggesting repugnance, a desire to avoid or reject, and antagonism suggesting a clash of temperaments leading readily to hostility.
a natural antipathy for self-seekers
antagonism between the brothers
animosity suggests intense ill will and vindictiveness that threaten to kindle hostility.
animosity that led to revenge
rancor is especially applied to bitter brooding over a wrong.
rancor filled every line of his letters
animus adds to animosity the implication of strong prejudice.
objections devoid of personal animus
Example Sentences
She felt an animus against them. feeling no animus toward those who had wronged her
Recent Examples on the WebGriggsby ruled then there was no objective evidence prosecutors were acting out of any animus toward Mosby. Lee O. Sanderlin, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2022 The textile worker and single mom inspires her fellow workers to overcome their racial animus and work together to vote in a union. Peter Dreier, The Conversation, 22 Aug. 2022 Or the animus against Taiwanese parishioners at a church in Laguna Woods, California, that led to the shooting death the following day of one man and the wounding of five others. Farnoush Amiri And Lisa Mascaro, ajc, 27 May 2022 The plaintiffs contend the text messages add to an existing body of evidence in the original case that shows racial animus. James Vaznis, BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2022 Another factor was a sense of looming racial animus — everything from an increase of MAGA hats to a classmate hurling racial slurs at his daughter on the school bus. Ricardo Nagaoka, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 Or the animus against Taiwanese parishioners at a church in Laguna Woods, California, that led to the shooting death the following day of one man and the wounding of five others. Farnoush Amiri And Lisa Mascaro, ajc, 27 May 2022 Or the animus against Taiwanese parishioners at a church in Laguna Woods, California, that led to the shooting death the following day of one man and the wounding of five others. Farnoush Amiri And Lisa Mascaro, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2022 Or the animus against Taiwanese parishioners at a church in Laguna Woods, California, that led to the shooting death the following day of one man and the wounding of five others. Farnoush Amiri And Lisa Mascaro, Chron, 26 May 2022 See More