anomie

or an·o·my

[ an-uh-mee ]

noun

, Sociology.

1. a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people.

anomie

/ ˈænəʊmɪ; əˈnɒmɪk /

noun

1. sociol lack of social or moral standards in an individual or society

Derived Forms

• anomic, adjective

Other Words From

• a·nom·ic [uh, -, nom, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anomie¹

1930–35; < French < Greek anomía lawlessness. See a- ⁶, -nomy

Word History and Origins

Origin of anomie¹

from Greek anomia lawlessness, from a- ¹+ nomos law

Example Sentences

That feeling of rootlessness and discontent, of society coming unstuck — the academic term is anomie — definitely isn’t unique to this country, but it gets massively amplified by our national narcissism and our physical isolation.

From Salon

But there is enough space, even within this anomie, to work together to carve out new understandings of gender, and reimagine the relationship between men and women.

From Salon

Both Banks and Heffington make plain that what we need is not more babies, more breathless calls for more babies or more calcifying cliches about anomie.

From Washington Post

Perhaps this is what Sultan meant when he used the word “staged,” because he is asking his dad to play a formulaic role of late-middle-age anomie.

From New York Times

Those power lines stretch out in the distance behind her, a drab symbol of American suburban anomie; in one upward-glancing shot they seem to form, briefly, the bars of a cage.

From Los Angeles Times