Dictionary

anarchy

noun an·ar·chy \ˈa-nər-kē, -ˌnär-\

: a situation of confusion and wild behavior in which the people in a country, group, organization, etc., are not controlled by rules or laws

Full Definition of ANARCHY

1
a :  absence of government
b :  a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority
c :  a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government
2
a :  absence or denial of any authority or established order
b :  absence of order :  disorder <not manicured plots but a wild anarchy of nature — Israel Shenker>
3
:  anarchism
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Examples of ANARCHY

  1. Its immigration policies in the last five years have become the envy of those in the West who see in all but the most restrictive laws the specter of terrorism and social anarchy. —Caroline Moorehead, New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2006

Origin of ANARCHY

Medieval Latin anarchia, from Greek, from anarchos having no ruler, from an- + archos ruler — more at arch-
First Known Use: 1539

Other Sociology Terms

bourgeois, ethos, eugenics, exurb, incommunicado, intelligentsia, megalopolis, metrosexual, mores, subculture

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Next Word in the Dictionary: anargyrosPrevious Word in the Dictionary: anarcho–syndicalismAll Words Near: anarchy
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