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British

anachronism

[ uh-nak-ruh-niz-uhm ]

/ əˈnæk rəˌnɪz əm /

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See synonyms for: anachronism / anachronisms on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

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.

VIDEO FOR ANACHRONISM

What Are Some Examples Of Anachronism?

For as realistic as they try to be, movies are rife with anachronisms. Here are a few examples ...

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Compare parachronism, prochronism.

Origin of anachronism

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

OTHER WORDS FROM anachronism

an·a·chron·i·cal·ly

[an-uh-kron-ik-lee], /ˌæn əˈkrɒn ɪk li/, adverb

Words nearby anachronism

anabranch, anacanthous, anacardiaceous, anachorism, anachronic, anachronism, anachronistic, anachronous, anachrony, anacidity, anaclastic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anachronism in a sentence

SamsungMany TV remotes still rely on alkaline batteries, which feels like an anachronism in 2021.
The hottest entertainment innovations of 2021|Stan Horaczek|December 3, 2021|Popular-Science
In many ways, the United States Senate is an anachronism left over from a time when thirteen colonies were independent sovereign nations.
Steny Hoyer: Letting the Filibuster Stand Will Break American Democracy|Steny H. Hoyer|October 27, 2021|Time
The divide between capital and labor increasingly looks like an anachronism, a throwback to the language and illusory simplicity of another time.
Why do the media always pit labor against capital?|Walter Thompson|September 10, 2021|TechCrunch
The usual policy of staying out of foreign conflicts unless absolutely necessary was becoming an anachronism.
How the Truman Doctrine transformed America’s role in the world|A.J. Baime|December 4, 2020|Washington Post

By 2030, I would argue that we will view this problem in the rearview mirror as a quaint anachronism.
Can You Hear Me Now? (Ep. 406)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 20, 2020|Freakonomics
The “reenactment” of the battle, an even more recent anachronism, dates back only to 1977.
The Truth About Florida’s Civil War History|T.D. Allman|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These days, says another former top studio executive, puts are an anachronism.
Murdoch's Next Move|Kim Masters|February 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
With these appears, by a poetic anachronism, Dietrich of Berne.
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|Edward Gibbon
By the time of the Reform Bill, a sinecure had become an anachronism.
The English Utilitarians, Volume II (of 3)|Leslie Stephen
Yet there are "many traces of apparent anachronism," of divergence from the more antique picture of life.
Homer and His Age|Andrew Lang
It was to him more of an anachronism than any manifestation he had yet encountered, even at the Fort, that stronghold of the past.
The Open Question|Elizabeth Robins
But what is an anachronism of this kind compared to that which involves the principal character in one continued topsy-turveydom?
The English Stage|Augustin Filon

British Dictionary definitions for anachronism

anachronism

/ (əˈnækrəˌnɪzəm) /

noun

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

a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another timeshe regards the Church as an anachronism

Derived forms of anachronism

anachronistic, adjectiveanachronistically, adverb

Word Origin for anachronism

C17: from Latin anachronismus, from Greek anakhronismos a mistake in chronology, from anakhronizein to err in a time reference, from ana- + khronos time

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012