anarchy

[ an-er-kee ]

noun

1. a state of society without government or law.
2. political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control:

   The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.

   Synonyms: lawlessness, turmoil, disruption

3. anarchism ( def 1 ).
4. lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination:

   the anarchy of his rebellious teenage years.

5. 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, turbulence, disorganization, license, disruption, chaos

anarchy

/ ˈænəkɪ; ænˈɑːkɪk /

noun

1. general lawlessness and disorder, esp when thought to result from an absence or failure of government
2. the absence or lack of government
3. the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos
4. the theory or practice of political anarchism

Derived Forms

• anarchic, adjective
• anˈarchically, adverb

Other Words From

• hyper·anar·chy noun
• pro·anar·chy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anarchy¹

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; an- ¹, -y ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of anarchy¹

C16: from Medieval Latin anarchia, from Greek anarkhia, from anarkhos without a ruler, from an- + arkh- leader, from arkhein to rule

Example Sentences

A subtle camera push heightens the alluring atmosphere that paints a portrait of quintessential Joker: juxtaposing beauty with anarchy.

From Los Angeles Times

He said the party had struggled to counteract Republican attack lines on "anarchy on college campuses, defund the police, biological boys playing in girls' sports, and a general attack on traditional values".

From BBC

Whatever happens, Shears promises a "little bit of chaos and anarchy" on the stage.

From BBC

But there is also no way to exit the system, unless you want to belong to the mob of anarchy that is the opposition to order.

From Slate

But because of how that happened and under what circumstances — and because the only American political party that pretends to stand for constitutional democracy, rational government and broader equality will once again blame its own voters, or the Russians, or the ignorance and bigotry of people it views with contempt, for the catastrophic consequences of its own incoherence and uncertainty, and for the fact that it could not prevent the entire system it claims to cherish from collapsing into clownish anarchy.

From Salon

Related Words

• chaos
• confusion
• disorder
• disorganization
• lawlessness
• nihilism
• riot
• turmoil