anarchic

adjective

a-ˈnär-kik How to pronounce anarchic (audio)
variants also anarchical
Definition of anarchicnext
as in rebellious
not restrained by or under the control of legal authority the citywide blackouts caused anarchic looting and rioting

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anarchic The story links the creatures’ anarchic physical comedy to silent-era pioneers such as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 26 June 2026 In a nod to the Marx Brothers’ anarchic spirit, Ramseur announced the project on April 1. — Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026 The action was technical and inventive but also anarchic, in the image of its director, former Monty Python actor Terry Gilliam, by this point a big name in Hollywood. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 3 June 2026 No one embodies this anarchic sensibility like David Letterman, the original Late Show host, who recently joined Colbert to hurl CBS property off the studio’s roof, in a reprisal of a vintage bit. — Judy Berman, Time, 22 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for anarchic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anarchic
  1. rebellious
  2. criminal
  3. disorderly
  4. illicit
  5. lawless
Adjective
  • The selection also features Dutch director Sabine Lubbe Bakker’s Premier Souffle, exploring whether a rebellious outsider can find her place in the world after years of isolation from her community.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Five years earlier my brother had gotten married, leaving me home alone without the buffers of his distracted affection, his big brotherly insouciance, his rebellious indifference to the emotional chasm widening between our parents.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebellious
Adjective
  • Also Sunday, prosecutors ordered a 48-hour detention of Marko Kricak, Vucic's chief of criminal police.
    — MARKO DROBNJAKOVIC, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Linn County prosecutors did not file criminal charges, but the church would not allow Moore to work with children, youth and vulnerable adults.
    — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of criminal
Adjective
  • Michael Knight is charged with making a false report about a bomb and disorderly intoxication.
    — Bri Buckley, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The drunk-and-disorderly charge is linked to a December incident, in which Minton is accused of shouting and cursing at patrons of a tattoo studio in Hickory, court records show.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of disorderly
Adjective
  • So far, the most plausible driver of recent declines in overdose deaths is a change in the illicit drug supply.
    — J. Travis Donahoe, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But how and through whom the money flowed into the Alpha account revealed that it was intended to remain secret, more akin to a covert and illicit scheme, given that it was managed in part by a senior advisor to the president of the United States.
    — Matthew Cole, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of illicit
Adjective
  • This past March, the mayor rescinded the NYPD’s ability to issue criminal summons to lawless e-bike riders.
    — Frank Morano, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Oil drilling began in the Bayou in the 1920s, a time of lawless extraction, and for decades, companies would simply dump their wastewater into large, unlined pits, allowing the fluid to seep into the ground.
    — Nick Bowlin, ProPublica, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of lawless

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Cite this Entry

“Anarchic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anarchic. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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