animus
n. uncountablen. a strong feeling of hatred or dislike toward someone. It is often used in legal or formal situations to describe a person's intention to harm another.
n. a desire to harm or injure another person, typically used in legal contexts to establish the mental state of the accused. Often contrasted with 'animus' in the sense of a motive or purpose.
The judge looked for evidence of animus in the defendant's actions.
The prosecution argued that the defendant's actions were not random but were driven by a clear animus toward the victim.
In legal philosophy, the distinction between an act of self-defense and one motivated by a pre-existing animus is often a matter of subjective interpretation by the jury.
Learned borrowing from Latin animus (“the mind, in a great variety of meanings: the rational soul in man, intellect, consciousness, will, intention, courage, spirit, sensibility, feeling, passion, pride, vehemence, wrath, etc., the breath, life, soul”), from Proto-Italic anamos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂enh₁mos, from *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”). Closely related to Latin anima, which is a feminine form.