anarchy

noun

ˈa-nər-kē How to pronounce anarchy (audio)
Definition of anarchynext
as in chaos
a state in which there is widespread wrongdoing and disregard for rules and authority the anarchy that the country experienced after the dictator drained the treasury and fled the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of anarchy Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse five years ago, Haiti has existed in a state of anarchy, with organized crime controlling swaths of the country and subjecting millions of Haitians to deprivation and extreme violence. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026 Few if any of the committees called for democracy, which probably would have smacked of anarchy to them. — T. H. Breen, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026 Just anarchy, all in the name of 8U baseball. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 June 2026 Spielberg shifts tonal gears with practiced ease, a sense of awe going hand in hand with an ebullient comic anarchy. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for anarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anarchy
  1. chaos
  2. unrest
  3. lawlessness
  4. turmoil
  5. misrule
Noun
  • The venerable establishment was undamaged, but shut down amid the chaos.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of chaos
Noun
  • Other factors have contributed to unrest over inflation, some analysts said.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Any potential for unrest or protests related to people’s monitoring of market forecasts is likely to come in the days following the election, while ballots still are being counted, Logan said.
    — Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of unrest
Noun
  • Still, Nixon created a blueprint for presidential lawlessness that Trump imitated and greatly expanded.
    — Elizabeth Holtzman, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • At the same time, there were many voices worried about the potential lawlessness.
    — Robbie Morrison, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of lawlessness
Noun
  • In the final weeks of the campaign, after some unprecedented turmoil caused another candidate to drop out, that alternative became Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
    — Clay Masters, NPR, 11 Aug. 2026
  • And yet, there’s a halo of chaos that surrounds Rhaenyra — an electric current of turmoil that’s too constant not to be her fault.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of turmoil
Noun
  • As the landscape was brought back under control, its wilder elements came to be regarded with ever more suspicion and distrust, as a symbol of earlier misrule.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 July 2026
  • Expectations are now rising over the role the United States will play in helping Venezuela, which had already been laid low by decades of misrule.
    — Emma Bubola Jenna Russell Raj Saha Adam Liptak, New York Times, 27 June 2026
Definition of misrule

Browse Nearby Words

anarchs
anarchy
anathema
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Cite this Entry

“Anarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anarchy. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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