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

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anachronistic

play \ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-tik\ or less commonly anachronic play \ˌa-nə-ˈkrä-nik\ adjective

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anachronistically

play \ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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anachronous

play \ə-ˈna-krə-nəs\ adjective

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anachronously

adverb

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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 of anachronism from the Web

Many see political indoctrination as an anachronism in an era when China’s more than 181 million schoolchildren need a modern education in math, science and liberal arts to get ahead.

— javier c. hernÁndez, New York Times, "To Inspire Young Communists, China Turns to ‘Red Army’ Schools," 15 Oct. 2017
Thoreau can’t be explained by the modern understanding of left and right; annexing him to either side is the worst sort of anachronism.

— crispin sartwell, WSJ, "Left or Right? Thoreau Wouldn’t Have Understood the Question," 11 July 2017
In this respect, too, Heavy is something of an anachronism.

— will oremus, Slate Magazine, "Five Fast Facts You Need to Know About Heavy.com," 15 Mar. 2017
Within these portraits, anachronisms and anatopisms abound.

— julia felsenthal, Vogue, "At the Whitney, a Vision of Africa—Without the Colonialist Meddling," 27 Oct. 2017
In an October that has seen managers turn to their bullpen nearly at the first sign of trouble, Verlander has emerged as an anachronism.

— jorge l. ortiz, USA TODAY, "Justin Verlander ready to save Astros' season vs. Yankees: 'I love these opportunities'," 20 Oct. 2017
The analytics revolution of the early 2000s valued only what could be proven with empirical evidence and cast aside anything predicated on intangible qualities as a charming anachronism evangelized by out-of-touch old-timers.

— jared diamond, WSJ, "Baseball Tackles Workplace Mystery: How to Build Team Chemistry?," 12 July 2017
Yes, they are vastly outnumbered, shouted off college campuses and scolded that their way of politics is an anachronism in this bright blue bulwark of the liberal resistance.

— jeremy w. peters, New York Times, "In the Heart of ‘The Resistance,’ California Conservatives Are Invigorated," 31 Oct. 2017
Gunboat diplomacy imposed by major powers on weaker countries became an anachronism.

— The Economist, "The liberal order of the past 70 years is under threat," 21 Sep. 2017

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.

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.

Origin and Etymology of anachronism

probably from Middle Greek anachronismos, from anachronizesthai to be an anachronism, from Late Greek anachronizein to be late, from Greek ana- + chronos time

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ANACHRONISM Defined for English Language Learners

anachronism

noun

Definition of anachronism for English Language Learners

: something (such as a word, an object, or an event) that is mistakenly placed in a time where it does not belong in a story, movie, etc.
: a person or a thing that seems to belong to the past and not to fit in the present