anarchist

[an-er-kist]

noun

1. a person who advocates or believes in anarchy or anarchism.

2. a person who seeks to overturn by violence all constituted forms and institutions of society and government, with no purpose of establishing any other system of order in the place of that destroyed.

3. a person who promotes disorder or excites revolt against any established rule, law, or custom.

anarchist

/ ˈænəkɪst /

noun

1. a person who advocates the abolition of government and a social system based on voluntary cooperation

2. a person who causes disorder or upheaval

Other Word Forms

• anarchistic adjective
• nonanarchistic adjective
• pseudoanarchistic adjective
• semianarchist noun
• semianarchistic adjective
• unanarchistic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anarchist¹

First recorded in 1670–80; anarch(y) + -ist

Example Sentences

"We're going to get out there and we're going to do a pretty big number on those people in Portland," he told reporters in the Oval Office, describing the targets as "professional agitators and anarchists".

From BBC

However, in context, it is clear that Alter is criticizing a strain of anarchist activism in the United States.

From Salon

According to Mark Bray, a professor of history at Rutgers University, the term was picked up across Europe in the 1980s and ’90s and adopted by a broad swath of leftists, anarchists and anti-authoritarian socialists.

From Los Angeles Times

By contrast, left-wing extremist incidents, including those tied to anarchist or environmental movements, have made up about 10& to 15% of incidents and less than 5% of fatalities.

From Salon

The army too has alleged that various "individuals and anarchist groups" had infiltrated the protests and were damaging private and public property.

From BBC

Related Words

• agitator 
• anarch 
• revolutionary