Anomy


a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people.
Historical Examples

One may designate it as religious independence, or anomy, or individualism.
The Non-religion of the Future: A Sociological Study Jean-Marie Guyau

noun
(sociol) lack of social or moral standards in an individual or society
n.

“lawlessness,” 1590s, anglicized from French anomie; from Greek anomia “lawlessness,” noun of quality from anomos “without law, lawless,” from a-, privative prefix, “without” (see an- (1)) + nomos “law” (see numismatics).
n.

“absence of accepted social values,” 1933, from Durkheim’s “Suicide” (1897); a reborrowing with French spelling of anomy.

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  • Anon

    in a short time; soon. at another time. Archaic. at once; immediately. ever and anon, now and then; occasionally. . . Historical Examples Ever and anon they would sell a yard of lace, a ribbon, a trinket, a pack of thread. The Golden Road Frank Waller Allen Ever and anon a rapid flash from a […]

  • Anonychia

    congenital absence of the nails. anonychia an·o·nych·i·a (ān’ə-nĭk’ē-ə) or an·o·ny·cho·sis (ān’ə-nĭ-kō’sĭs) n. Congenital absence of the nails.

  • Anonym

    an assumed or false name. an person or publication. Historical Examples Referring to my remarks on the use of the word “anonym,” I may point out that this is not the correct title of Barbier’s work. How to Catalogue a Library Henry B. (Henry Benjamin) Wheatley You cannot express a negation such as this by […]

  • Anonymize

    verb (transitive) to carry out or organize in such a way as to preserve anonymity: anonymized AIDS screening Historical Examples We all had the same basic ParanoidXbox install, so we could all anonymize our pictures. Little Brother Cory Doctorow verb to make anonymous Word Origin anonymous + -ize

  • Anonymously

    without any name acknowledged, as that of author, contributor, or the like: an anonymous letter to the editor; an anonymous donation. of unknown name; whose name is withheld: an anonymous author. lacking individuality, unique character, or distinction: an endless row of drab, anonymous houses. Contemporary Examples The article, by Jonathan Strong, is rife with scaremongering, […]


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