anonymous

[uh-non-uh-muh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR anonymous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

without any name acknowledged, as that of author, contributor, or the like: an anonymous letter to the editor; an anonymous donation.

of unknown name; whose name is withheld: an anonymous author.

lacking individuality, unique character, or distinction: an endless row of drab, anonymous houses.

Origin of anonymous

1595–1605; < Latin anōnymus < Greek anṓnymos, equivalent to an- an-¹ + -ōnym(a) (variant of ónyma) -onym (earlier (a)n- with vowel lengthening; cf. anopheles) + -os adj. suffix; see -ous

Related formsa·non·y·mous·ness, nouna·non·y·mous·ly, adverbnon·a·non·y·mous·ness, noun

Can be confusedanomalous anonymous euonymus unanimousanonymous pseudonymous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for anonymous

unidentified, unnamed, undisclosed, nameless, unsigned, incognito, pseudo, pseudonymous, secret, unspecified, X, innominate, unacknowledged, unattested, unavowed, unclaimed, uncredited, undesignated, whatchamacallit

Examples from the Web for anonymous

Contemporary Examples of anonymous

If only Sulzberger had managed to keep a zipped upper lip while leaving the dirty work to anonymous underlings.
The Bloodiest Media Coups of 2014
Lloyd Grove
December 22, 2014
I wanted to be anonymous, as some of these people were friends of mine.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything
Liz Seccuro
December 16, 2014
Liar "I sometimes wish I could be anonymous and just walk down the street like everybody else."
The Beyoncé Manifesto: Quotes on Nihilism and Feminism
Amy Zimmerman
December 12, 2014
And an anonymous junior in a fraternity at Emory University feels similarly.
Fraternities in a Post-UVA World
Samantha Allen
December 12, 2014
The return of Stephen Glass, the truth about Anonymous and escaping Jonestown.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Nov 10-16, 2014
William Boot
November 16, 2014

Historical Examples of anonymous

Except Virgil and this anonymous rhymer, I can recall no verse about cheese.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
I received an anonymous letter, in a hand-writing I did not recognize.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
More than probably Lyttleton had been the other anonymous informant.
Nobody
Louis Joseph Vance
The two had something written on them--anonymous information, so to speak.
Nobody
Louis Joseph Vance
It is not certain now that the anonymous beginning had been a good thing.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete
Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for anonymous

anonymous

adjective

from or by a person, author, etc, whose name is unknown or withheldan anonymous letter

having no known name

lacking individual characteristics; unexceptional

(often capital) denoting an organization which provides help to applicants who remain anonymousAlcoholics Anonymous

Derived Formsanonymity (ˌænəˈnɪmɪtɪ), nounanonymously, adverbanonymousness, noun

Word Origin for anonymous

C17: via Late Latin from Greek anōnumos, from an- + onoma name

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

Word Origin and History for anonymous

adj.

c.1600, from Late Latin anonymus, from Greek anonymos "without a name," from an- "without" (see an- (1)) + onyma, Æolic dialectal form of onoma "name" (see name (n.)).