anarchy
Americannoun
-
a state of society without government or law.
-
political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control.
The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
- Synonyms:
- turmoil, disruption, lawlessness
-
lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination.
the anarchy of his rebellious teenage years.
-
confusion and disorder.
Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.
It was impossible to find the book I was looking for in the anarchy of his bookshelves.
- Synonyms:
- disintegration, disorganization, license, turbulence, disruption, chaos
noun
-
general lawlessness and disorder, esp when thought to result from an absence or failure of government
-
the absence or lack of government
-
the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos
-
the theory or practice of political anarchism
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of anarchy
First recorded in 1530–40; from Middle French anarchie or Medieval Latin anarchia or directly from Greek anarchía “lawlessness,” literally, “lack of a leader,” equivalent to ánarch(os) “leaderless” ( an- “without, lacking” + arch(ós) “leader” + -os adjective suffix) + -ia noun suffix; see an- 1, -y 3
Explanation
Use the noun anarchy to describe a complete lack of government — or the chaotic state of affairs created by such an absence. A substitute teacher might worry that an unruly classroom will descend into anarchy. From the Greek for "without a ruler" we get this word for the political philosophy that the best government is no government at all — a movement that enjoyed surprising success worldwide in the early and middle parts of the twentieth century. Today, the word is more commonly used to describe not a political ideal but a state of total disorder, chaos and even violence: "A type of bloody anarchy is beginning to reign." A good synonym would be "lawlessness."
Vocabulary lists containing anarchy
Play by the Rules: Arch
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Hamilton
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The Things They Carried
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Baqaei called the threat toward Oman "a worrying sign of the normalisation of anarchy and intimidation in international relations".
From Barron's • May 28, 2026
The anti-Assad forces were splintered, mutually mistrustful and prone to looting; the areas they controlled descended into anarchy.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
"We will not allow anarchy, and we will not tolerate any harm to IDF servicemen and security forces who carry out their duties with dedication and determination."
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
It marks the death knell of the post–World War II settlement that, however imperfect, wrestled the anarchy of war into a framework designed to condition armed aggression on legal justification.
From Slate • Jan. 5, 2026
We’re lucky that English, with its stretchy grammar and its giant grab bag of a vocabulary, gives us so much room for verbal play, if not anarchy.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
