anachronism

American  

[uh-nak-ruh-niz-uhm] / əˈnæk rəˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.

   The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.

2. an error in chronology in which a person, object, event, etc., is assigned a date or period other than the correct one.

   To assign Michelangelo to the 14th century is an anachronism.

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anachronism British  

/ əˈnækrəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. the representation of an event, person, or thing in a historical context in which it could not have occurred or existed

2. a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another time

   she regards the Church as an anachronism

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Other Word Forms

• anachronically adverb
• anachronistic adjective
• anachronistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of anachronism

1640–50; < Latin anachronismus < Greek anachronismós a wrong time reference, equivalent to anachron ( ízein ) to make a wrong time reference ( ana-, chron-, -ize ) + -ismos -ism

Explanation

An anachronism is something that doesn't fit its time period, like if you say you'll "dial" your smartphone. Anachronism comes from the Greek roots ana- which means "against" and chron- which means "time." Together they represent a situation in which something happens that should not because it belongs to another time period. You see anachronisms all the time in the movies — they occur when you see a jet fly over a Civil War battle! Or knights jousting over a maiden during the time of Shakespeare!

Example Sentences

The Dow—a group of 30 companies often seen as an anachronism in an era of index investing and big data—doesn’t capture the full force of the current boom.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Their opposition to transportation projects and other infrastructure, though supposedly grounded in Jeffersonian principle, was a roundabout way of retarding industrial development and ensuring that slavery did not become an economic anachronism.

From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025

Andy Cooke, chief inspector of constabulary, said the current police funding formula was "an anachronism".

From BBC • Dec. 17, 2024

In an increasingly digital United States, they’re more and more a remnant of a time gone by, an anachronism of a now-unfathomable era when leaving your house meant being unavailable to callers.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

Failure to tear away that veil had turned my father into an anachronism.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane