anti pattern
n.n. a common response to a problem that seems like a good idea at first but actually makes things worse. It is a mistake that people repeat often because it looks like a shortcut or an easy fix.
n. a common solution to a recurring problem that is ineffective or counterproductive in practice. While initially attractive, it typically introduces more problems than it solves and is often used as a cautionary term in software engineering and management.
Hard-coding passwords into your software is a dangerous anti-pattern.
The team realized that 'micromanagement' was an anti-pattern that destroyed productivity instead of improving it.
While the 'God Object' might seem like a convenient way to centralize data, it is a classic architectural anti-pattern that makes the codebase nearly impossible to maintain or test.
Formed from the prefix anti-, meaning against or opposite, and the noun pattern. The term was established in the 1995 book Design Patterns, which formalised the study of recurring solutions in software engineering.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Commonly used in technical and professional contexts, particularly in software development and organizational theory.
Last updated July 22, 2026