anarchist

noun

an·​ar·​chist ˈa-nər-kist 

-ˌnär-

1

: a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power

2

: a person who believes in, advocates, or promotes anarchism or anarchy

especially : one who uses violent means to overthrow the established order

anarchist adjective

or anarchistic

ˌa-nər-ˈki-stik 

-(ˌ)när-

Examples of anarchist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Based on his writings, it’s widely believed that Satoshi was part of the Cypherpunks, an anarchist movement formed in the early 1990s dedicated to using cryptography to undermine government surveillance and censorship. —Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026

This was just the beginning of us young anarchists becoming judgmental jerks. —Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2026

That’s partially due to bandleader Caspian Honeywell’s time on the circuit in the defunct anarchist group Blackbird Raum, who jump-started the folk-punk movement almost 20 years ago. —Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 23 Feb. 2026

All were marked for assassination by an anarchist cook named Jean Crones, who spiked the soup stock with arsenic. —Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

anarchy + -ist entry 1; as a proponent of a political theory after French anarchiste.

Note: The use of the French words anarchisme and anarchiste in reference to political theory are associated with Pierre-Joseph proudhon. In his first major work, Qu'est-ce que la propriété? Recherche sur le principe du droit et du gouvernement (Paris, 1840), Proudhon used anarchiste (p.229), but not anarchisme.

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

anarchist

noun

an·​ar·​chist ˈan-ər-kəst 

-ˌär-

: a person who believes in anarchism or anarchy or practices anarchy

anarchist adjective

or anarchistic

ˌan-ər-ˈkis-tik 

-(ˌ)är-