anarchy

anarchy — noun

1. a state of serious public disorder after effective rule disappears, leaving no a

1.nounC2
Definition

a state of serious public disorder after effective rule disappears, leaving no authority to enforce law or keep public order.

Example

After the army left the capital, anarchy spread through the streets.

anarchy spread through + place

Shop owners closed early as anarchy grew after the election results.

anarchy grew after [event]

Common collocations
  • fall into anarchy
  • descend into anarchy
  • state of anarchy
  • political anarchy
Synonyms
  • chaos

    broader and less political; can describe any extreme confusion

  • lawlessness

    focuses on people acting without obeying the law

  • disorder

    more neutral and often less extreme

Antonyms
  • order

    emphasizes stable control and rules

  • stability

    focuses on a society remaining calm and secure

Grammar Patterns

fall into anarchy

descend into anarchy

Usage Note

Usually uncountable and often used with verbs like fall into, descend into, or lead to. It most often describes the collapse of control in a country, city, or system, not an ordinary messy situation.

Common Mistakes

My bedroom is anarchy after the trip.
My bedroom is in chaos after the trip.
'anarchy' usually describes public disorder caused by a lack of authority, not an everyday mess.
The country fell into an anarchy after the coup.
The country fell into anarchy after the coup.
this sense is usually uncountable, so it normally has no article.

Word family

  • anarchism
    nounC2
  • anarchist
    nounC2
  • anarchic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Anarchy' and 'chaos' both suggest serious disorder, but 'anarchy' usually points to the cause: there is no effective authority controlling the situation. 'Chaos' is broader and can describe anything from a messy room to a confused meeting. 'Lawlessness' is narrower and stresses that laws are being broken or are not being enforced. 'Disorder' is the widest and most neutral choice, often used in news reports for trouble in the streets without suggesting total collapse. Use 'anarchy' when a city or country seems to have lost rule altogether. You can say 'The coup pushed the region toward anarchy,' but 'The kitchen was in chaos after dinner' sounds much more natural for everyday confusion.

anarchy ↗chaos ↗lawlessnessdisorder ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • state of anarchy

Phrases

  • fall into anarchy
  • descend into anarchy
  • slide into anarchy

Prepositions

  • into anarchy

Etymology

Ancient GreekLate LatinMiddle FrenchEnglish

From Greek anarkhia, meaning 'without a ruler', built from an- ('without') and arkhos ('leader' or 'ruler'). The word passed through Latin and French before entering English in the 1500s. From the start, it referred to life without effective government or control, and that core meaning has stayed central.