Dictionary

anachronism

noun anach·ro·nism \ə-ˈna-krə-ˌni-zəm\

: something (such as a word, an object, or an event) that is mistakenly placed in a time where it does not belong in a story, movie, etc.

: a person or a thing that seems to belong to the past and not to fit in the present

Full Definition of ANACHRONISM

1
:  an error in chronology; especially :  a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other
2
:  a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place; especially :  one from a former age that is incongruous in the present
3
:  the state or condition of being chronologically out of place
anach·ro·nis·tic \ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-tik\ also ana·chron·ic \ˌa-nə-ˈkrä-nik\ adjective
anach·ro·nis·ti·cal·ly \ə-ˌna-krə-ˈnis-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb
anach·ro·nous \ə-ˈna-krə-nəs\ adjective
anach·ro·nous·ly adverb
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Examples of ANACHRONISM

  1. In our modern world of pre-made, rush-rush, tightly scheduled lives, Amanda Blake Soule is an anachronism. At their home in coastal Maine, her family of six makes most of what they use—everything from bread and crafts to clothes and toys. —Jean Van't Hul, Mothering, March/April 2009

Origin of ANACHRONISM

probably from Middle Greek anachronismos, from anachronizesthai to be an anachronism, from Late Greek anachronizein to be late, from Greek ana- + chronos time
First Known Use: 1617

Rhymes with ANACHRONISM

absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, Anglicanism, animalism, antagonism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, determinism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metabolism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obscurantism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, reductionism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism

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