Israel Shenker
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The Multiple Meanings of Anarchy
Anarchy exemplifies how words may have similar yet distinctive meanings. The earliest recorded use of the word, from the early 16th century, meant simply “absence of government,” albeit with the implication of civil disorder. A similar but ameliorated meaning began to be employed in the 19th century in reference to a Utopian society that had no government. The establishment of these two senses of anarchy did not stop the word from being applied outside the realm of government with the broadened meaning ”a state of confusion or disorder.” The existence of definitions that are in semantic conflict does not imply that one (or more) of them is wrong; it simply shows that multisense words like anarchy mean different things in different contexts. Another example of a sense-shifting word relating to government is aristocracy. When first used in English, this word carried the sole meaning “government by the best individuals.” It may still be used in such a fashion, but more commonly, it is encountered in the extended sense “the aggregate of those believed to be superior.”
Examples of anarchy in a Sentence
Caroline Moorehead, New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2006
Fueled by booze and the euphoria of having seen their school win a share of its first … title in 36 years, a mob of Beavers fans hurled itself at the cops, breaching both chains and creating anarchy.
—Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated, 27 Nov. 2000
But by the early 1800s, the mines began to play out, and the colonists challenged the Spanish throne for independence. The Silver Cities survived not only the bloody revolution of 1821 but also the ensuing century of anarchy and bloodshed.
—David Baird, Continental, February 1999
The anarchy of the Internet may be daunting for the neophyte, but it differs little from the bibliographical chaos that is the result of five and a half centuries of the printing press.
—Fred Lerner, The Story of Libraries, (1945) 1998
Anarchy reigned in the empire's remote provinces.
When the teacher was absent, there was anarchy in the classroom.
Laura Kiniry, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Jan. 2025
Excerpt The Mob Began to Think and Reason David Graeber
David Graeber, an anthropologist and key figure in the Occupy Wall Street protests, dissects the deeply undemocratic origins of America and the meaning of anarchy in this excerpt from his book The Democracy Project.
—Max Ufberg, hazlitt.net, 4 Jan. 2025
At this point, the United States must instead try again to directly engage China and Russia not only as nuclear adversaries to be deterred but also as potential collaborators in a final attempt to head off nuclear anarchy.
—Lewis A. Dunn, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2024
On the walls were Tolokonnikova’s latest visual works: Russian police shields scratched up with messages and drawings of the anarchy symbol and tiny flowers.
—Steve Appleford, SPIN, 23 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near anarchy
Cite this Entry
“Anarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchy. Accessed 10 Feb. 2025.
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