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
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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
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.
In a landmark speech in 1949, he argued that once constitutional avenues existed, methods such as fasting and civil disobedience should give way to democratic processes, warning that otherwise they became the "grammar of anarchy".
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Perhaps that’s why he’s confident enough to be rooting for anarchy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
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
Settling into motherhood, she read up on relationship anarchy — which she sees as not abiding by tiers of connection.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
The Germans protested that the terms were too harsh, that the continuing blockade would lead to famine and anarchy in Germany.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
