anonymous

adjective

anon·​y·​mous ə-ˈnä-nə-məs 

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

anonymousness noun

Synonyms of anonymous

• one
• unnamed

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 on the Web

About a week after Santos shared her views on Kirk, the college’s human resources office received an anonymous letter with screenshots of Santos’ online posts and immediately suspended her, according to the complaint. —Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 13 Nov. 2025

Starting in 2007, LaRue and her daughter became the target of an anonymous stalker who would send letters threatening to rape and murder them. —Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025

Sands said that the school was made aware of the form collecting anonymous pledges. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 12 Nov. 2025

The Guide’s recommendations are far from fixed and are reassessed each year following anonymous and independent visits conducted by its Inspectors. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 12 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin anōnymos, anōnymus "lacking a name" (borrowed from Greek anṓnymos "lacking a name, unnamed, not well-known or remembered," from an- an- + -ōnymos, derivative in adjectival compounds of ónoma, Doric and Aeolic dialects ónyma "name") + -ous — more at name entry 1

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for anonymous

• autonomous
• economise
• eponymous
• synonymous

Kids Definition

anonymous

adjective

anon·​y·​mous ə-ˈnän-ə-məs 

1

: not named or identified

the donor remained anonymous

2

: made or done by someone unknown

anonymous gifts

an anonymous poem

anonymously adverb

anonymousness noun

Etymology

from Latin anonymus "anonymous," from Greek anonymos (same meaning), from an-, a- "not, without" and onyma, onoma "name" — related to synonymous