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

• certain
• given
• one
• some
• unidentified
• unnamed
• unspecified

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.

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Recent Examples on the Web

The committee’s members are anonymous, and the coalition’s website directs members of the news media to a generic form for questions. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2023

What is the best way to stay private, secure and anonymous while browsing the web? —Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 23 Nov. 2023

Many of Pennock’s subjects are anonymous, their names unrecorded in European sources that offer limited glimpses of their lives. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2023

The plan involves investors teaming up with Microsoft to threaten lawsuits and withholding of computing resources, multiple anonymous sources told Forbes. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 19 Nov. 2023

Bringing Westbrook, the starting guard since his first game as a Clipper last February, off the bench had been in the works since the day before, according to people with knowledge of the events who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal matters. —Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023

Favors’ sister, who has asked to remain anonymous, said her sibling had entered a gas station to make a purchase when a confrontation occurred inside of the store with two other individuals. —Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023

Police asked that anyone with information about the incident contact police at [phone] or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at [phone]. —Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Nov. 2023

An anonymous source close to the project told the outlet that the production company A24 was developing the film, which will be based on Walter Isaacson’s biography about the mercurial Musk. —Tori Latham, Robb Report, 10 Nov. 2023

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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

1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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