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
Relevance
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
Throwing one’s hands up, in resignation or indifference, captures the anarchy that seems to characterize our digital lives.
—
Roger J. Kreuz, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2025
The country had devolved into anarchy and total uncertainty.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Flynn said the rally should have never been allowed to escalate to the point of anarchy.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 15 Oct. 2025
Other dystopian genre films like The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston, or World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, imagine the anarchy coming from a virus that breaks society and turns neighbors into literal zombies.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anarchy
Roger J. Kreuz, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2025
The country had devolved into anarchy and total uncertainty.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Flynn said the rally should have never been allowed to escalate to the point of anarchy.
—Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 15 Oct. 2025
Other dystopian genre films like The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston, or World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, imagine the anarchy coming from a virus that breaks society and turns neighbors into literal zombies.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for anarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anarchy
Noun
-
The robotic characters break free from their restaurant resting place to cause chaos in town, while the villainous Marionette pops up to possess victims for her own nefarious purposes.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Somewhere in that glorious chaos, a 17-second clip of a kid in zombie face paint became permanently lodged in your brain.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This time around, though, heavy casualties risk triggering internal mass unrest in a nation where a sizable portion of the population is anti-regime, regardless of their religious embrace of martyrdom.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2026
-
After the 2020 unrest, however, City Hall moved to expand and elevate that model.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As Euphoria’s creator, writer, and director, Sam Levinson wants to craft a show about the pervasiveness of fentanyl, the dangers of addiction, and the lawlessness of the American West.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The lawlessness afoot in Venezuela’s capital city is vibrantly captured in this gripping adaptation of Karina Sainz Borgo’s novel from the filmmaking team behind Bad Hair (Festival 2014).—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Twelve destinies searching for peace and belonging, while the house remains a haven through decades of turmoil.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Others aren’t so sure, pointing to the long hiatus, the off-screen turmoil and a television landscape that no longer moves in lockstep.—
Precious Fondren,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The engineer said decades of misrule have been hard on Iranians.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Goetz understood this disorder not as the product of scant civic resources or state retreat but rather as the result of liberal misrule—do-gooder bureaucrats, failed social programs, and a city that had coddled the undeserving and the criminal.—
Heather Ann Thompson,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Anarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anarchy. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
