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
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Recent Examples of anarchy
But Arab countries want an end to regional anarchy, not just an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Maha Yahya, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2025
Our government with three separate but co-equal branches exists precisely to prevent this kind of anarchy operating under a thin veneer of fiscal responsibility and shrewd cost-cutting.
—Brian Schatz, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025
In the years since, the mask has been adopted as a symbol of anarchy and protest worldwide.
—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
See All Example Sentences for anarchy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anarchy
Noun
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None of the six conferences managed to get all four top seeds to the semifinal round, but the level of chaos varied widely from one conference to the next.—
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But in the chaos a new experiment bubbled to the surface.—
Noun
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The levels are based off several factors, including crime levels, threats of terrorism, civil unrest, health concerns and the possibility of a natural disaster, according to the State Department.—
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In addition to long-standing restrictions, the State Department issued a travel advisory in August warning citizens not to travel to Iran due to political unrest in the region.—
Noun
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But Haiti has been in constant turmoil, hampering U.S. efforts.—
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Such a break in tradition would be catastrophic for the diamond industry, which is already in turmoil.—
Noun
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Hezbollah shares its chronic corruption and misrule with the other militias turned parties that have hollowed out the postwar Lebanese state.—
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Nobody can disaggregate the effects of international policies from the impact of the Taliban’s awful misrule.—
Cite this Entry
“Anarchy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anarchy. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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