anachronistic

A1N1A1C3H4R1O1N1I1S1T1I1C3
/əˌnæk.ɹəˈnɪs.tɪk/

adjective

Erroneous in date; containing an anachronism; in a wrong time; not applicable to or not appropriate for the time.

“If you know where to look in the movie, you can spot an anachronistic wrist watch on one of the Roman soldiers.”

Opposite
historicalhistorically accurateperiod appropriate
UncommonScrabble 20

Meanings

adjectiveanachronistic (comparative more anachronistic, superlative most anachronistic)

comparative more anachronistic · superlative most anachronistic

  1. Erroneous in date; containing an anachronism; in a wrong time; not applicable to or not appropriate for the time.

    If you know where to look in the movie, you can spot an anachronistic wrist watch on one of the Roman soldiers.

    5 more examples

    The impiety of the Ciceronian attitude was probably his major objection to the sect, yet the dialogue is mainly concerned with the more anachronistic and illogical aspects of attempting to write only as Cicero did.

    1975, David O. McNeil, Guillaume Budé and Humanism in the Reign of Francis I, page 71

    What could be more anachronistic than imposing contemporary concern over fragmentation, i.e. diversity, of the present on the past so that no sources of patriarchal power or hierarchy can be held responsible for collective oppression in any time period?

    1996, Joan Hoff, “The Pernicious Effects of Poststructuralism on Women's History”, in Diane Bell, Renate Klein, editors, Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed, page 404

    Among them, even the most lucid of 'one-nation' Tories had severe difficulties in seeing the anti-growth nature of some of the most anachronistic of traditional British institutions.

    2001, David E. Hojman, “Economic Growth and Civil Society under Pinochet and Thatcher: A Political Economy Analysis of Free-Market Models in Chile and the United Kingdom”, in Frank H. Columbus, editor, Politics and Economics of Latin America, Volume 1, footnote, page 94

    The 'liberalism' issue that perplexed Catholics in the 1880s was by 1914 increasingly anachronistic, as political liberalism won resoundingly (in France), or lost resoundingly (in Austria), or became fragmented and divided (in Germany).

    2004, John W. Boyer, “1: Catholics, Christians and the Challenges of Democracy: The Heritage of the Nineteenth Century”, in Wolfram Kaiser, Helmut Wohnout, editors, Political Catholicism in Europe 1918-1945, volume 1, page 22

    In their daily practices, journalists often perpetuated ageing and increasingly anachronistic ideologies, but they were rarely, in fact, dominated by them.

    2013, Brian Moeran, Asian Media Productions, page 104

    Synonyms: anachronous, anachronistical, antiquated, obsolete, antichronical, dated, outdated

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveErroneous in date; containing an anachronism; in a wrong time; not applicable to or not appropriate for the time.

Opposite
historicalhistorically accurateperiod appropriate

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivechronologically misplaced

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂en-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*aná
  3. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νᾰ́ (ănắ)
  4. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νᾰ- (ănă-)
  5. Ancient Greekχρόνος (khrónos)
  6. Ancient Greekχρονῐ́ζω (khronĭ́zō)
  7. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νᾰχρονῐ́ζομαι (ănăkhronĭ́zomai)
  8. Ancient Greekἀναχρονισμός (anakhronismós)
  9. New Latinanachronismus
  10. Englishanachronism
  11. Englishanachronist
  12. Englishanachronistic

From anachronist + -ic.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Brazilian Portuguese anacrônico, anacrônico
  • anacrônicoerroneous in date
  • anacrônicopreferring past things and values
Catalan anacrònic
  • anacrònicerroneous in date
Chinese Mandarin 不合時代 /不合时代, 不合時宜 /不合时宜
  • 不合時代 /不合时代 (bùhéshídài)erroneous in date
  • 不合時宜 /不合时宜 (bùhéshíyí)erroneous in date
Dutch anachronistisch
  • anachronistischerroneous in date
Esperanto anakronisma
  • anakronismaerroneous in date
European Portuguese anacrónico, anacrónico
  • anacrónicoerroneous in date
  • anacrónicopreferring past things and values
Finnish epäajanmukainen, anakronistinen
  • epäajanmukainenerroneous in date
  • anakronistinenerroneous in date
  • aikaan sopimatonerroneous in date
French anachronique
  • anachroniqueerroneous in date
German anachronistisch, fehldatiert
  • anachronistischerroneous in date
  • fehldatierterroneous in date
  • zeitwidrigerroneous in date
  • anachronistischpreferring past things and values
  • altmodischpreferring past things and values
  • veraltetpreferring past things and values
  • überkommenpreferring past things and values
  • antiquiertpreferring past things and values
  • traditionalistischpreferring past things and values
  • obsoletpreferring past things and values
  • unzeitgemäßpreferring past things and values
Greek αναχρονιστικός
  • αναχρονιστικός (anachronistikós)erroneous in date
Hebrew אֲנַכְרוֹנִיסְטִי
  • אֲנַכְרוֹנִיסְטִי (anakhronisti)erroneous in date
Hungarian anakronisztikus
  • anakronisztikuserroneous in date
Irish mí-aimseartha
  • mí-aimsearthaerroneous in date
Italian anacronistico
  • anacronisticoerroneous in date
Japanese 時代錯誤の
  • 時代錯誤の (jidaisakugo no)erroneous in date
Korean 시대 착오
  • 시대 착오 (sidae chago)erroneous in date
Latin anachronicus, anachronisticus
  • anachronicuserroneous in date
  • anachronisticuserroneous in date
Polish anachroniczny, anachroniczny
  • anachronicznyerroneous in date
  • anachronicznypreferring past things and values
Romanian anacronic
  • anacronicerroneous in date
Russian анахрони́ческий, анахрони́чный
  • анахрони́ческий (anaxroníčeskij)erroneous in date
  • анахрони́чный (anaxroníčnyj)erroneous in date
Spanish anacrónico, anacrónico
  • anacrónicoerroneous in date
  • anacrónicopreferring past things and values
Tagalog laos na
  • laos naerroneous in date
Cite this entry
APA

anachronistic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anachronistic

MLA

“anachronistic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anachronistic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anachronistic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anachronistic.

Source: anachronistic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.