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

In 1927, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two working-class Italian anarchists charged with murder, were sent to the electric chair in Massachusetts, setting off protests around the world. —Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 24 June 2025

While for many nineteenth-century anarchists, human nature was understood in scientific terms, Tolstoy understood it religiously. —Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025

Pack said that law enforcement analysts are placing the blame for these escalating riots on a core group of organized anarchists, made up of about 60 individuals, who slipped into the protest crowds. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2025

From anarchists to orders Antonio Gramsci, the early 20th-century Italian Marxist theorist, expanded the concept of hegemony beyond international relations into a class analysis. —Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 30 May 2025

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-