diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0390f3674b08..f76ebf4e353e 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Allows fallback values in plugin API helpers ([#8762](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/8762))
 - Fix usage of postcss.config.js in standalone CLI ([#8769](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/8769))
 - Fix usage of special-character prefixes ([#8772](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/8772))
+- Don’t prefix selectors in arbitrary variants ([#8773](https://github.com/tailwindlabs/tailwindcss/pull/8773))
 
 ## [3.1.4] - 2022-06-21
 
diff --git a/src/lib/generateRules.js b/src/lib/generateRules.js
index fa790a455230..e1cad8f7d9b2 100644
--- a/src/lib/generateRules.js
+++ b/src/lib/generateRules.js
@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ function applyVariant(variant, matches, context) {
   }
 
   let args
+  let isArbitraryVariant = false
 
   // Find partial arbitrary variants
   if (variant.endsWith(']') && !variant.startsWith('[')) {
@@ -144,6 +145,8 @@ function applyVariant(variant, matches, context) {
       return []
     }
 
+    isArbitraryVariant = true
+
     let fn = parseVariant(selector)
 
     let sort = Array.from(context.variantOrder.values()).pop() << 1n
@@ -300,6 +303,7 @@ function applyVariant(variant, matches, context) {
             ...meta,
             sort: variantSort | meta.sort,
             collectedFormats: (meta.collectedFormats ?? []).concat(collectedFormats),
+            isArbitraryVariant,
           },
           clone.nodes[0],
         ]
@@ -627,6 +631,7 @@ function* resolveMatches(candidate, context, original = candidate) {
             base: candidate
               .split(new RegExp(`\\${context?.tailwindConfig?.separator ?? ':'}(?![^[]*\\])`))
               .pop(),
+            isArbitraryVariant: match[0].isArbitraryVariant,
 
             context,
           })
diff --git a/src/util/formatVariantSelector.js b/src/util/formatVariantSelector.js
index 2684cdc7f6b6..3c2e1f9db733 100644
--- a/src/util/formatVariantSelector.js
+++ b/src/util/formatVariantSelector.js
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ export function finalizeSelector(
     selector,
     candidate,
     context,
+    isArbitraryVariant,
 
     // Split by the separator, but ignore the separator inside square brackets:
     //
@@ -50,7 +51,8 @@ export function finalizeSelector(
 ) {
   let ast = selectorParser().astSync(selector)
 
-  if (context?.tailwindConfig?.prefix) {
+  // We explicitly DO NOT prefix classes in arbitrary variants
+  if (context?.tailwindConfig?.prefix && !isArbitraryVariant) {
     format = prefixSelector(context.tailwindConfig.prefix, format)
   }
 
diff --git a/tests/arbitrary-variants.test.js b/tests/arbitrary-variants.test.js
index a42300c4c53c..be9704e87b71 100644
--- a/tests/arbitrary-variants.test.js
+++ b/tests/arbitrary-variants.test.js
@@ -527,3 +527,42 @@ test('allows attribute variants with quotes', () => {
     `)
   })
 })
+
+test('classes in arbitrary variants should not be prefixed', () => {
+  let config = {
+    prefix: 'tw-',
+    content: [
+      {
+        raw: `
+          <div class="[.foo_&]:tw-text-red-400">should not be red</div>
+          <div class="foo">
+            <div class="[.foo_&]:tw-text-red-400">should be red</div>
+          </div>
+          <div class="[&_.foo]:tw-text-red-400">
+            <div>should not be red</div>
+            <div class="foo">should be red</div>
+          </div>
+        `,
+      },
+    ],
+    corePlugins: { preflight: false },
+  }
+
+  let input = `
+    @tailwind utilities;
+  `
+
+  return run(input, config).then((result) => {
+    expect(result.css).toMatchFormattedCss(css`
+      .foo .\[\.foo_\&\]\:tw-text-red-400 {
+        --tw-text-opacity: 1;
+        color: rgb(248 113 113 / var(--tw-text-opacity));
+      }
+
+      .\[\&_\.foo\]\:tw-text-red-400 .foo {
+        --tw-text-opacity: 1;
+        color: rgb(248 113 113 / var(--tw-text-opacity));
+      }
+    `)
+  })
+})