anarchy
Americannoun
-
a state of society without government or law.
-
political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control.
The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
- Synonyms:
- turmoil, disruption, lawlessness
-
lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination.
the anarchy of his rebellious teenage years.
-
confusion and disorder.
Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.
It was impossible to find the book I was looking for in the anarchy of his bookshelves.
- Synonyms:
- disintegration, disorganization, license, turbulence, disruption, chaos
noun
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general lawlessness and disorder, esp when thought to result from an absence or failure of government
-
the absence or lack of government
-
the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos
-
the theory or practice of political anarchism
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of anarchy
First recorded in 1530–40; from Middle French anarchie or Medieval Latin anarchia or directly from Greek anarchía “lawlessness,” literally, “lack of a leader,” equivalent to ánarch(os) “leaderless” ( an- “without, lacking” + arch(ós) “leader” + -os adjective suffix) + -ia noun suffix; see an- 1, -y 3
Explanation
Use the noun anarchy to describe a complete lack of government — or the chaotic state of affairs created by such an absence. A substitute teacher might worry that an unruly classroom will descend into anarchy. From the Greek for "without a ruler" we get this word for the political philosophy that the best government is no government at all — a movement that enjoyed surprising success worldwide in the early and middle parts of the twentieth century. Today, the word is more commonly used to describe not a political ideal but a state of total disorder, chaos and even violence: "A type of bloody anarchy is beginning to reign." A good synonym would be "lawlessness."
Vocabulary lists containing anarchy
Play by the Rules: Arch
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Hamilton
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The Things They Carried
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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.
‘SONS OF ANARCHY: Led by Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Damon Harrison, the Jets’ defensive line is expected to be a force again.
From Washington Times • Aug. 26, 2014
Under the title of "ANARCHY," the play was first performed at Buffalo, New York, May 30, 1887, at the Academy of Music.
From Representative Plays by American Dramatists: 1856-1911: Paul Kauvar; or, Anarchy by Moses, Montrose Jonas
Definitions 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.
