anachronistic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of anachronistic
First recorded in 1765–75; anachron(ism) + -istic
Explanation
Something that's old-fashioned and maybe a little out of place is anachronistic, like a clunky black rotary-dial telephone sitting on a desk beside a sleek new smart-phone (or whatever the new technology is when you read this). The adjective anachronistic comes from the Greek words ana, or "against", and khronos, or "time." It usually refers to something old-fashioned or antique, but it can also mean anything that blatantly clashes with the time in which it is seen. Imagine watching a movie that takes place in the 1700s and seeing one of the characters pull out a cell phone. Any phone, in the context of the movie's time period, would be anachronistic.
Vocabulary lists containing anachronistic
100 Top "SAT" Words
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It's About Time: Chron and Temp
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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.
The highly bespoke not-for-profit seems especially anachronistic in a city where computer processing speeds are measured in nanoseconds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"Kill supply management," Calgary journalist and writer Jen Gerson argued in a column, external published this month before Trump's latest tariff threats, calling it "anachronistic" and blaming it for driving up food prices in Canada.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
It’s the first use of anachronistic existing music in the franchise’s history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
"Some officials in the United States still have yet to awaken from their escapist and anachronistic dream," she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
Though now considered anachronistic, in the late nineteenth century the chair was thought to be a bold and humane innovation.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
