anachronism

noun

anach·ro·nism | \ ə-ˈna-krə-ˌni-zəm

Definition of anachronism

1 : an error in chronology especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other found several anachronisms in the movie

2 : a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place especially : one from a former age that is incongruous in the present By the time I reached my teens, the housewife was an anachronism, replaced on television by the perky, glamorous, character of That Girl, Marlo Thomas, who kept her boyfriend at bay in the interest of pursuing her acting career. — Joyce Maynard

3 : the state or condition of being chronologically out of place

Other Words from anachronism Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about anachronism

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Other Words from anachronism

anachronistic \ ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-tik

\ or less commonly anachronic \ ˌa-nə-ˈkrä-nik

\ adjective

anachronistically \ ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

anachronous \ ə-ˈna-krə-nəs

\ adjective

anachronously adverb

Did You Know?

An anachronism is something that is out of place in terms of time or chronology. The word derives from chronos, the Greek word for "time," and ana-, a Greek prefix meaning "up," "back," or "again." When it was first used in English in the 17th century, anachronism referred to an error in the dating of something (as, for example, in etymology, when a word or use is mistakenly assumed to have arisen earlier than it did). Anachronisms were sometimes distinguished from parachronisms, chronological errors in which dates are set later than is correct. But parachronism did not stand the test of time. It is now a very rare word.

Examples of anachronism in a Sentence

In our modern world of pre-made, rush-rush, tightly scheduled lives, Amanda Blake Soule is an anachronism. At their home in coastal Maine, her family of six makes most of what they use—everything from bread and crafts to clothes and toys. — Jean Van't Hul, Mothering, March/April 2009 The spy thriller is a genre that arguably should have died fifteen years ago, and its continued popularity seems an anachronism at first glance. — Rand Richards Cooper, Commonweal, 14 Sept. 2007 With few exceptions, work opportunities for older people diminished after the Civil War as the United States metamorphosed into an urban-industrial order, inaugurating a second phase in the history of retirement. The village blacksmith became an anachronism as the craftsman retreated before the new mass-production industries. — W. Andrew Achenbaum, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2006 But Shakespeare may have drifted into anachronism here. According to Rogers, food in France at the time of Agincourt was probably just as meaty and unsophisticated as it was in England. — Jonathan Ree, Prospect, August, 2003 It is true that in the closing years of the century William Jennings Bryan could still rise to national political leadership through his superb oratorical skills, but it is equally true that he lived to see himself become an anachronism, the bearer of a style redolent of an earlier culture. — Lawrence W. Levine, The Unpredictable Past, 1993 The novel is full of anachronisms. He's an old-fashioned politician who is seen by many of his colleagues as an anachronism.

Recent Examples on the Web

The play is full of anachronisms, including that touch-tone phone. — Patti Hartigan, BostonGlobe.com, "In ‘Tea at Five,’ Faye Dunaway delivers the full flavor of Kate Hepburn," 30 June 2019 The notion of Shaft as an anachronism also loses its cool quickly, bordering on wince-inducing as the character keeps not only cracking skulls but being casually homophobic and insisting on describing women by particular body parts. — Brian Lowry, CNN, "'Shaft' doesn't bring enough firepower to action-comedy revival," 13 June 2019 The Favourite, for all its prestige costume drama bonafides, loves a good anachronism. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Beyond The Favourite: The Royal Family's Very Queer History," 22 Feb. 2019 But purists and collectors will covet the charismatic anachronism of the three-pedal manual. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "2019 Corvette ZR1: The Last, and Best, of Its Kind," 28 Nov. 2018 But the new Murphy Brown doesn’t even try to explore these contradictions, or the sheer anachronism of the show’s existence in this era. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "4 TV shows to check out, from The Good Place to Lil Rel Howery’s new show," 27 Sep. 2018 Although railroads and trucks had made the log drive an anachronism by 1949, when this story first ran, the method was still used. — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, "The Lost Art of Floating Logs Down the River," 16 Feb. 2019 To its credit, the adaptation seems aware of this anachronism. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, "A New Theatrical Adaptation of Network Is All About the Rage," 7 Dec. 2018 From a modern perspective, controlling 3D games with that distinctly ancient control scheme feels like a bit of an anachronism. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "PlayStation Classic review: A far-from-classic experience," 27 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anachronism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.