Other Words from anachronism

anachronistic \ ə-ˌna-krə-ˈni-stik

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

\ adjective

anachronistically \ ə-ˌna-krə-ˈni-sti-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 But now, in an apparent anachronism, the concept seems to be exercising a new, and, many fear, a malign, influence. — Blake Smith, Washington Examiner, "Simone de Beauvoir and the perversion of 'lived experience'," 11 Feb. 2021 Section 230 is an anachronism intended to protect Internet service providers (ISP), not social media companies. — Jeff Bewkes, Fortune, "Now is not the time to repeal Section 230, but it should be soon," 30 Dec. 2020 One columnist even called Perkins an anachronism stuck in the wrong age. — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, "Sacrifice, commitment to Alabama defined Ray Perkins," 9 Dec. 2020 The usual policy of staying out of foreign conflicts unless absolutely necessary was becoming an anachronism. — Washington Post, "How the Truman Doctrine transformed America’s role in the world," 4 Dec. 2020 While four-door compact pickups are nothing new, there's only one that's based on the rolling anachronism that is the Jeep Wrangler, convertible top and all. — Mike Sutton, Car and Driver, "We Recruit a 2020 Jeep Gladiator Mojave for Both Work and Play," 24 Nov. 2020 In one sense, the Raiders are the anti-Chiefs, an anachronism assembled to win with brute force: with fullbacks and blocking tight ends and by running with Josh Jacobs, who harnesses the power of a transformer, out of two-back sets. — Ben Shpigel, New York Times, "103 Seconds to Go. Is Patrick Mahomes the Quarterback? No Problem.," 23 Nov. 2020 The president's responsibility for the US nuclear arsenal is a Cold War anachronism. — Garrett M. Graff, Wired, "By the Way, Donald Trump Could Still Launch Nuclear Weapons at Any Time," 17 Nov. 2020 Labour government decided to put a stop to that anachronism, which jarred with its vision of a modern, classless society. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, "Earldoms for Girldom," 14 Nov. 2020

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.