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anarchy

anarchy

79 6.5
A situation with no government and much disorder
  • noun
  • /ˈænərki/
translation icon : anarquía
  • The country descended into anarchy after the government collapsed, leading to widespread chaos.
  • anarchy and chaos
  • state of anarchy
  • lead to anarchy

So globally there's a kind of anarchy across borders.

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Examples

  • Yeah, I was thinking of it more as the line between civilization and lawless anarchy.

  • We can't watch the world slipping into anarchy.

  • And you knew that they had created, right, a kind of new anarchy and a new form.

  • The second principle is anarchy, allowing everything to happen.

  • What we're doing is we're making art out of anarchy.

  • How will it be ensured that the same type of vicious anarchy does not return?

    Academic text (1993)
  • What we are up against is anarchy plus fanaticism.

  • But if you destroy all trust and institutions, what you get is either anarchy or a dictatorship.

  • So globally there's a kind of anarchy across borders.

  • Behind a despotic, violent state, one usually will find hidden anarchy and disharmony.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

chaos
vsanarchy
438 3.1

A situation with no order where people are confused and cannot act normally

is a society lacking government and law that often produces this confusion
turmoil
vsanarchy
138 4.8

A time of great confusion and disorder

is specifically the absence of government causing similar widespread disturbance
mayhem
vsanarchy
68 7.3

Violent disorder and chaos that causes damage or a lot of trouble

is the broader political absence of authority, not only violent disorder
disorder
vsanarchy
  • Literature
50 4.1

A time of public unrest that breaks normal order

is a full lack of government and law rather than just public unrest
lawlessness
vsanarchy
22 6.5

People do not follow laws and order breaks down

is caused by the absence of government, not only lawbreaking

Antonyms

1.0

The way a country or community is run

505 1.5

A state where people follow rules and behave calmly

How Chaotic

chaos
438 3.1
anarchy
79 6.5
disorder
  • Literature
50 4.1
instability
114 5.1
order
505 1.5

Surface Forms

anarchy singular
anarchies plural

Morphology

anarchy = an + archy

Formed from the negating prefix 'an-' + the combining form '-archy' meaning 'rule/government', so the meaning 'without rule' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Anarchy comes from two Greek words: an- 'without' and archy 'ruler', the same root as monarch. So, anarchy means 'without a ruler', which explains why it is used for a society with no government and often much disorder.