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Derived Forms
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:
"I don't know if they are alive or not," she said on condition of anonymity.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The former Nigerian president has "initiated a process of discussions regarding the Pretoria Agreement," an African diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Victims of sexual offences are granted automatic anonymity but Mellissa and Nikita have both waived their rights so they can share their story.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
County prosecutors who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Of course that was part of my job, but it was a part that got harder not easier as time went on; more and more often I longed for anonymity, for sameness.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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
Down in the tanks inside the hull were a few luckless anonymities with search-lights, put there to watch for leaks from loose rivet-heads.
From The Cup of Fury A Novel of Cities and Shipyards by Henry Raleigh
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
He stood behind a steel network of banks and lawyers and anonymities, unreachable.
From The Secret House by Edgar Wallace
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.
