anonymous

adjective anon·y·mous \ ə-ˈnä-nə-məs \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: anonymous in a Sentence

Definition of anonymous

1 : of unknown authorship or origin

an anonymous tip

2 : not named or identified

an anonymous author

They wish to remain anonymous.

3 : lacking individuality, distinction, or recognizability

the anonymous faces in the crowd

… the gray anonymous streets …
—William Styron

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anonymously

adverb

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anonymousness

noun

See anonymous defined for English-language learners

See anonymous defined for kids

Examples of anonymous in a Sentence

The donor wishes to remain anonymous.
An anonymous buyer purchased the painting.
The college received an anonymous gift.
He made an anonymous phone call to the police.
The reporter got an anonymous tip.
His was just another anonymous face in the crowd.

Recent Examples of anonymous from the Web

The names of all children who contact the office, like the eight-year-old boy, are kept anonymous.

— claudia blumer, The Christian Science Monitor, "In Switzerland, giving children a say in life-changing decisions," 15 June 2018
For the first time, those who advocate on behalf of victims of domestic violence are using a database of housing available to homeless people to help victims leave emergency shelters and move into new homes — all while remaining safely anonymous.

— christine dempsey, courant.com, "Advocates For Homeless, Domestic Violence Survivors, Join Forces To Help Victims Find Housing," 14 June 2018
Lorem Ipsum’s been the norm in printing and typesetting since the 1500s, when an anonymous printer used it to show different type fonts.

— rob weinberg, Pomerado News, "Mr. Marketing: A tastier Lorem Ipsum text," 14 June 2018
Court documents describe Dream Market as one of the largest criminal sites where anonymous buyers and sellers do transactions using bitcoin and other virtual currencies.

— curt anderson, Fox News, "Frenchman in US beard contest pleads guilty in drug case," 13 June 2018
Broward Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,000 reward for tips, anonymous or otherwise, that lead to the arrest of a suspect.

— tonya alanez, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Motorcyclist victim of hit and run loses foot," 13 June 2018
The pearl sold quickly to a Dutchman buying the piece for an anonymous party, who turned out to be Russia’s Catherine the Great.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "The Odyssey of the World’s Largest Freshwater Pearl," 12 June 2018
The horizontal video uses the same footage as the vertical, in which Mendes strums and sings away as a pair of anonymous female hands get touchy-feely.

— abby jones, Billboard, "Shawn Mendes Drops Gorgeous 'Full Color' 'Nervous' Video: Watch," 11 June 2018
Marinel de Jesus and Krista Karlson, of Peak Explorations, have created an anonymous survey to better understand successes, barriers, and questions about incorporating DEI practices into companies of all sizes and missions.

— marinel de jesus, Outside Online, "Outdoor Companies: Get Smart About Hiring," 8 June 2018

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