Background <p>The Dietary Antioxidant Index (DAI) and Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) measure the antioxidant capacity and inflammatory potential of diets, respectively, and are inversely associated with the risk of chronic disease.</p> Aims <p>This study examines DAI characteristics and their association with DII in Jordanian adults, adjusting for sex, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC).</p> Methods <p>A cross-sectional study was conducted, and 391 adults were randomly included. Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and anthropometric data (BMI and WC) were collected using standardized protocols. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated 157-item FFQ, from which DAI, Dietary Antioxidant Quality Score (DAQS), and DII were calculated using established international methods.</p> Results <p>Females, individuals with overweight/obesity, and those with central obesity had significantly higher DAI and DAQS scores (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Unexpectedly, participants with overweight/obesity and central obesity were more frequently represented in higher antioxidant score categories, whereas normal-weight and normal-WC individuals clustered in lower antioxidant score categories (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). DAI and DAQS decreased progressively across increasing DII quartiles (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001), showing a moderate, significant inverse correlation with DII (<i>r</i> ≈ − 0.32 to − 0.37). Regression analysis confirmed that higher antioxidant indices were associated with lower DII scores, accounting for 14–16% of the variance after adjustment.</p> Conclusion <p>Dietary antioxidant indices were inversely and gradually associated with DII, independent of sex and adiposity measures. These findings indicate substantial overlap between antioxidant-rich dietary patterns and lower inflammatory dietary profiles. </p>