anagram

[ an-uh-gram ]

See synonyms for anagram on Thesaurus.com

noun

a word, phrase, or sentence formed from another by rearranging its letters: “Angel” is an anagram of “glean.”
anagrams, (used with a singular verb) a game in which the players build words by transposing and, often, adding letters.

verb (used with object),an·a·grammed, an·a·gram·ming.

to form (the letters of a text) into a secret message by rearranging them.
to rearrange (the letters of a text) so as to discover a secret message.

Origin of anagram

First recorded in 1580–90; probably from Middle French anagramme, from New Latin anagramma; equivalent to ana- + -gram¹

Other words from anagram

an·a·gram·mat·ic [an-uh-gruh-mat-ik], /ˌæn ə grəˈmæt ɪk/, an·a·gram·mat·i·cal, adjective
an·a·gram·mat·i·cal·ly, adverb

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

How to use anagram in a sentence

In his most recent novel, The Warsaw Anagrams, Richard Zimler takes on the story behind this disturbing, but seductive subject.
Must Read Novels | Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin | August 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Upon opening The Warsaw Anagrams, I thought: why am I reading another Holocaust novel?
Must Read Novels | Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin | August 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some supposed allies advise he use anagrams, as they do, to keep his identity a secret.
Must Read Novels | Lucy Scholes, John Wilwol, Randy Rosenthal, Nina MacLaughlin | August 4, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
anagram′matism, the practice of making anagrams; anagram′matist, a maker of anagrams.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) | Various
He danced well, drove four-in-hand, and was a very Œdipus in expounding anagrams and conundrums.
Discipline | Mary Brunton

The letters of each of the following anagrams may be transposed so as to spell the name of a well-known novel.
St. Nicholas v. 13 No. 9 July 1886 | Various
George Herbert and others made anagrams, and verses shaped like an altar, a cross, or a pair of Easter wings.
From Chaucer to Tennyson | Henry A. Beers
I think he wrote these letters for fun, as some people make puzzles, anagrams, or limericks.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, September 1908, No. 5 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for anagram

anagram

/ (ˈænəˌɡræm) /

noun

a word or phrase the letters of which can be rearranged into another word or phrase

Origin of anagram

C16: from New Latin anagramma, shortened from Greek anagrammatismos, from anagrammatizein to transpose letters, from ana- + gramma a letter

Derived forms of anagram

anagrammatic (ˌænəɡrəˈmætɪk) or anagrammatical, adjective
anagrammatically, adverb

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

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