Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Anarchy
1.
Absence of government; the state of society where there is no law or supreme power; a state of lawlessness; political confusion.
Spread
anarchy
and terror all around. Cowper.
2.
Hence, confusion or disorder, in general.
There being then . . . an
anarchy
, as I may term it, in authors and their re[GREEK]koning of years. Fuller.
Webster 1828 Edition
Anarchy
AN'ARCHY
,Noun.
Want of government; a state of society, when there is no law or supreme power, or when the laws are not efficient, and individuals do what they please with impunity; political confusion.
Definition 2024
anarchy
anarchy
English
Noun
anarchy (countable and uncountable, plural anarchies)
- (uncountable) The state of a society being without authorities or an authoritative governing body.
- (uncountable) Anarchism; the political theory that a community is best organized by the voluntary cooperation of individuals, rather than by a government, which is regarded as being coercive by nature.
- (countable) A chaotic and confusing absence of any form of political authority or government.
- Confusion in general; disorder.
Usage notes
- (confusion or misunderstanding in general): Anarchists feel it is inappropriate to use anarchy to mean “a state of chaos or confusion”. However, this has historically been a common use of the word.
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:anarchy.
Synonyms
- see Wikisaurus:disorder
Antonyms
- (all senses): nonanarchy (rare)
- (disorder): order
Translations
absence of any form of political authority or government
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political disorder and confusion
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