Most people know about anti-Semitism. Still, efforts to define anti-Semitism and the tropes that perpetuate it continue to be given insufficient weight.

Case in point, the head-scratching debate in some corners around “The Working Definition of anti-Semitism,” a non-legally-binding, 38-word synopsis of what constitutes anti-Semitism, adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016.

“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” the definition states. “Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

Like any useful definition, it includes a wide range of citations and examples, including Holocaust denial or distortion, stereotypes or conspiracy theories about Jews, and denying the Jewish people’s right to self-determination, a key tenet of anti-Zionism.

The definition does not apply to negative assessments of Israel’s policies, many of which are troubling and ripe for denunciation, as are the policies of so many other countries. Rather, it helps unmask anti-Semitism cleverly disguised as compassionate criticism. It defines the talking points that have stealthily made anti-Semitism acceptable in mainstream society and hoodwinked some social justice activists into becoming unwitting accomplices.

A sharper, clearer and comprehensive definition is critical when many still have no idea what anti-Semitism is. According to an American Jewish Committee (AJC) survey last fall, an astonishing 46% of the American public have either never heard the term anti-Semitism (21%) or heard the term but are unsure of what it means (25%).

That’s especially scary after the coronavirus pandemic, divisive elections and the national reckoning over racial justice spawned or revived a litany of anti-Semitic tropes. With that in mind, AJC recently updated “Translate Hate,” a glossary of 40 anti-Semitic expressions, some of which have existed for millenniums, others invented in the past year.

It explains why the terms are anti-Semitic when used in certain contexts and includes examples of contemporary Jew hatred from the right, left, radical extremists and conspiracy theorists.

The phrase “poisoning the well” reemerged on far-right fringe platforms that blamed Jews for spreading the virus.

Far-left platforms replaced the word “Jews” with “Israel” and accused the Jewish state of using the virus to hurt Palestinians or profiting off the vaccine.

Other lies about Jews surfaced within segments of the Black Lives Matter movement, including a false claim condemned by the Council of the American Historical Association that Jews played an outsize role in the Atlantic slave trade.

The “deadly exchange” trope also gained steam, a suggestion that training programs between the U.S. and Israeli police forces have fueled American police brutality against Black Americans by promulgating tactics allegedly used against Palestinians. The gross analogy appeared in demonstrations last summer when protesters chanted “Israel, we know you, you murder children, too.”

Like any virus, anti-Semitism mutates, making it next to impossible for lexicographers to keep up and for governments to recognize its many variants. Accordingly, the “Translate Hate” glossary includes the IHRA Working Definition of anti-Semitism to help flag any new terms or conspiracies that might arise.

A clear understanding of anti-Semitic lexicon and its history is key to recognizing and fighting the rising hatred of Jews. History has proven that we can’t always count on dictionaries. That’s OK. For the sharpest and clearest picture, anti-Semitism should be seen in higher definition anyway.

Manya Brachear Pashman is co-host of “People of the Pod,” an American Jewish Committee podcast about global affairs through a Jewish lens. She covered religion for the Chicago Tribune between 2003 and 2018.