anarchist

American  

[an-er-kist] / ˈæn ər kɪst /

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.

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anarchist British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of anarchist

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

Example Sentences

So, the reviled foreigner, once disdained for his fractured French and suspected anarchist sympathies, got justice — call it revenge — on his own terms, by making outside the cool place to be.

From New York Times

By adulthood, his belief in armed civilian resistance was cemented, but the idea of owning an AR-15 came much later, in 2013 during a trip to visit anarchist friends in Philadelphia.

From Washington Post

Resorting to the divisive political strategy that has served him in the past, Netanyahu tried to delegitimize the protesters, denouncing them as anarchists and leftists, by which he meant, not patriots.

From Los Angeles Times

The government has labeled them anarchists out to topple a democratically-elected leadership.

From Washington Times

The government has labelled them anarchists out to topple the government.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• agitator
• anarch
• revolutionary