anarchist

noun

an·ar·chist ˈa-nər-kist

-ˌnär-

Synonyms of anarchist next

: a person who rebels against any authority, established order, or ruling power

: 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 Without them, the state would be unable to provide the public goods that today’s sheltered anarchists take for granted. —

WSJ, 14 Nov. 2023 Wodehouse, an instinctive anti-realist anarchist, is not only more experimental than Maugham but invariably the more precise stylist. —

James Wood, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023 In the indictment, prosecutors allege that defendants are anarchists who have supported a violent movement. —

Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023 The Big Eye sent him undercover for months at a time to sniff out train robbers (including Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch), mine salters, anarchists, and sundry ne’er-do-wells. —

Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 14 Aug. 2023 Others in his party have gone far further, calling the reservists everything from anarchists to traitors. —

Danna Harman, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2023 Despite having been branded by some of their detractors as anarchists and leftist traitors, the anti-government protesters have adopted patriotic props and symbols, re-appropriating the Israeli flag, long associated with right-wing activists, and singing the national anthem. —

Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2023 Sisi has been compared to Princess Diana because of her beauty, bittersweet life, and tragic death – assassinated by an Italian anarchist in 1898. —

Rick Steves, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023 There’s the video of Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, talks of Paul Revere’s forensic dentistry abilities, and an explanation of how the deadly 1942 Cocoanut Grove fire changed local fire codes. —

Danny McDonald, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anarchist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of anarchist was in 1646

See more words from the same year