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Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of anonymity
First recorded in 1810–20; anonym(ous) + -ity, or from French anonymité
Explanation
If you want a little bit of invisibility, you might seek anonymity, or being anonymous and nameless. He was a very wealthy man, and he gave most of his money away with quiet anonymity, so no one knew who was helping. The noun anonymity comes from a Greek word meaning "without a name." If you have anonymity, you have namelessness, and people will not know who you are. Some words that are the opposite of anonymity are "celebrity" and "fame." Sometimes people request anonymity, as in "he phoned the police to report the break-in across the street but requested anonymity so the burglars wouldn't know who turned them in."
Vocabulary lists containing anonymity
"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
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Allegiant
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
"It will be livestreamed. Details will follow," the Pentagon official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an EU official admitted such an issue could arise again.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Students and staff at the Ivy League university spoke to the BBC, some on condition of anonymity, saying the tension on campus had become palpable since the 2024 case resurfaced in recent weeks.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
A law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case, said Ali’s account was accurate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“A school official, who spoke with us under guarantee of their anonymity, said that the metal detectors were installed after a fight broke out on the second day of school.”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Director Clair uses anonymities for his leads; Actor Raymond Cordy was a taxi-driver a year ago.
From Time Magazine Archive
Presumably because of the libel laws, Cross confines his harsher remarks about the House of Commons to anonymities.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is the rendezvous of expiring illusions, the gathering place of the anonymities which utilize man, beasts and plants.
From Fantazius Mallare A Mysterious Oath by Wallace Smith
I am not quite so pleased to get these anonymities, I must confess, as I am to get a clean, tall editio princeps of The Orphan or of Love for Love.
From Gossip in a Library by Edmund Gosse
The thought of these poor anonymities frightened her.
From The Cup of Fury A Novel of Cities and Shipyards by Henry Raleigh
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.
