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Animus

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(pronounced an-uh-mus)  noun

Definition

1. animating intention, force or spirit; attitude or inclination; underlying purpose.   2. a feeling of animosity (particularly when resulting from preconceived and unreasonable judgment or opinion); strong dislike or ill will (usually as a result of prejudice).

Main Example

• The highly regarded PBS program “NOW” devoted one of its recent editions to the work of Nicholas D. Kristof, an op-ed columnist for the New York Times and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Mr. Kristof regularly travels to the world’s most dangerous trouble spots, seeking to discover that one individual whose story will galvanize Americans and provide the much needed animus for changes in the U.S. government’s policy with regard to situations such as the eternal conflict in the Congo, during which over 5 million people have been killed, or sex trafficking in Cambodia.

Workplace Examples

• Our CEO subscribes to the philosophy that happiness in the workplace is central to high output. If you analyze his recent proposals, you can see that their principal animus stems from his belief that “the happier the employee, the more productive he or she will be.”
• It’s true that Linda and I are not the best of friends. However, my opposition to her plan is based purely on its lack of merit, not out of any personal conflict or animus. Just last month, for instance, I wholeheartedly supported her controversial idea that employees should have every Friday off during the summer.

Other Examples

• after winning a bitterly fought election for the position of association president, the successful candidate telling members, “Now, we must all come together and erase the gap between us. This is not a time for ill will, resentment, or animus.”
• racial animus leading to a shocking 1998 murder in East Texas when a 49-year old black man, James Byrd Jr., was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for some three miles
• a recent biography that can hardly be described as objective, for it bears clear evidence of the author’s personal animus against the subject
• the animus within the Tea Party arising partly from its members’ deep concern with recent government bailouts and the ballooning federal budget deficit
• Jackson Pollock’s expressive drip paintings, which bear the marks of the artist’s movement around the canvas, being imbued with the animus of their creator
• in late 1999, as opinion leaders debated over who should be anointed “Person of the Twentieth Century,” the late William F. Buckley recommending Pope John Paul II for “providing the great spiritual animus to help overwhelm the greatest threat to peace--the Soviet Union”

© 2010 V.J. Singal
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