anonymous

A1N1O1N1Y4M3O1U1S1
UK/əˈnɒn.ɪ.məs/Canada, US/əˈnɑ.nə.məs/Australia/əˈnɔn.ə.məs/

adjective

Lacking a name; not named, for example an animal not assigned to any species .

“an anonymous author”

Similar
namelesson the meritsunidentifiedunknownunnamedfacelessanon.
Opposite
autonymousorthonymousonymous
OriginLate Latin anonymus ← Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νώνῠμος →
Very commonScrabble 14
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Meanings

anonymous1

adjectiveanonymous (comparative more anonymous, superlative most anonymous)

comparative more anonymous · superlative most anonymous

  1. not comparableLacking a name; not named, for example an animal not assigned to any species .

    Synonyms: nameless

  2. not comparableWithout any name acknowledged of a person responsible.

    an anonymous pamphlet

    2 more examples

    an anonymous subscription

    anonymous author or painter

    Synonyms: on the merits · Antonyms: autonymous, orthonymous

  3. not comparableOf unknown name; whose name is withheld

    an anonymous author

    3 more examples

    an anonymous benefactor

    No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.

    The shift in the balance of power online has allowed anyone to publish to the world, from dispirited teenagers in south London to an anonymous cyber-dissident in a Middle East autocracy.

    2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in The Guardian

    Synonyms: unidentified, unknown, unnamed

  4. comparablefigurativelyLacking individuality.

    an anonymous office block in a soulless industrial estate

    Synonyms: faceless

Anonymous2

proper noun
  1. A decentralized hacktivist group that conducts cyberattacks opposing primarily Internet censorship and government corruption.
  2. InternetA member of an anonymous imageboard website, especially of 4chan.
  3. InternetcollectiveThe members of an anonymous imageboard website, especially of 4chan.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveLacking a name; not named, for example an animal not assigned to any species .

Similar
nameless

adjectiveWithout any name acknowledged of a person responsible.

Similar
on the merits
Opposite
autonymousorthonymous

adjectiveOf unknown name; whose name is withheld

Similar
unidentifiedunknownunnamed

adjectiveLacking individuality.

Similar
faceless
Opposite
onymous

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivehaving no known name or identity or known source

Similar
anon.namelessunidentifiedunknown
Opposite
onymous

adjectivenot known or lacking marked individuality

Similar
faceless
Also see
facelessnamelessunidentifiedunknownunmarkedunnamed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekᾰ̓νώνῠμος“without name”
  2. Late Latinanonymus
  3. Englishanonymous

Borrowed into English around 1600 from Late Latin anonymus, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νώνῠμος (ănṓnŭmos, “without name”), from ᾰ̓ν- (ăn-, “un-”) with ὄνῠμᾰ (ónŭmă), Aeolic and Doric dialectal form of ὄνομᾰ (ónomă, “name”). English equivalent an- + -onymous.

More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀνώνυμος
  • ἀνώνυμος (anṓnumos)wanting a name, not named and determined
Arabic مَجْهُول الْاِسْم
  • مَجْهُول الْاِسْم (majhūl al-ism)of unknown name; whose name is withheld
Bulgarian бези́менен, анони́мен
  • бези́менен (bezímenen)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • анони́мен (anonímen)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • анони́мен (anonímen)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • анони́мен (anonímen)of unknown name; whose name is withheld
Catalan anònim, anònim
  • anònimwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anònimwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anònimof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Chinese Mandarin 無名 /无名, 匿名
  • 無名 /无名 (wúmíng)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • 匿名 (nìmíng)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • 佚名 (yìmíng)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
Czech bezejmenný, anonymní
  • bezejmennýwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymníwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonymníof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Danish anonym, ukendt
  • anonymwanting a name, not named and determined
  • ukendtwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonymof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Dutch naamloos, onbenoemd
  • naamlooswanting a name, not named and determined
  • onbenoemdwanting a name, not named and determined
  • naamlooswithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anoniemwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • naamloosof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anoniemof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Esperanto anonima, anonima
  • anonimawanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonimawithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • sennomawithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonimawithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anonimaof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • sennomaof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anonimalacking individuality
Finnish nimetön, nimetön
  • nimetönwanting a name, not named and determined
  • nimetönwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonyymiof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • nimetönlacking individuality
French anonyme, anonyme
  • anonymewanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymewithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonymewithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anonymeof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anonymelacking individuality
German namenlos, anonym
  • namenloswanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonymof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Greek ανώνυμος, ανώνυμος
  • ανώνυμος (anónymos)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • ανώνυμος (anónymos)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • ανώνυμος (anónymos)of unknown name; whose name is withheld
Hebrew אַלְמוֹנִי, אנונימי
  • אַלְמוֹנִי (almoní)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • אנונימי (anoními)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
Hindi अनाम, अज्ञात
  • अनाम (anām)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • अज्ञात (agyāt)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • अनामक (anāmak)wanting a name, not named and determined
Hungarian névtelen, névtelen
  • névtelenwanting a name, not named and determined
  • névtelenof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Italian anonimo, anonimo
  • anonimowithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonimowithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anonimoof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anonimolacking individuality
Japanese 無名, 匿名の
  • 無名 (mumei no)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • 匿名の (tokumei no)wanting a name, not named and determined
Korean 익명의, 무명
  • 익명의 (ingmyeong'ui)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • 무명 (mumyeong)wanting a name, not named and determined
Lithuanian bevardis, bevardis
  • bevardiswanting a name, not named and determined
  • bevardiswithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • bevardisof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Malay tidak bernama
  • tidak bernamaof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Norwegian Bokmål anonym
  • anonymwanting a name, not named and determined
Polish bezimienny, anonimowy
  • bezimiennywanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonimowywanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonimowywithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • bezimiennywithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonimowyof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • bezimiennyof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anonimowylacking individuality
  • bezimiennylacking individuality
Portuguese anónimo, anônimo
  • anónimowanting a name, not named and determined
  • anônimowanting a name, not named and determined
  • anónimowithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anônimowithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anónimowithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anônimowithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anónimoof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anônimoof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anónimolacking individuality
  • anônimolacking individuality
Romanian anonim, anonim
  • anonimwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonimwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonimof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Russian анони́мный, безымя́нный
  • анони́мный (anonímnyj)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • безымя́нный (bezymjánnyj)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • безымя́нный (bezymjánnyj)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
Scottish Gaelic gun urrainn, gun urrainn
  • gun urrainnwanting a name, not named and determined
  • gun urrainnwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • gun urrainnof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Slovak bezmenný, anonymný
  • bezmennýwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymnýof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Spanish anónimo, anónimo
  • anónimowanting a name, not named and determined
  • anónimowithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anónimowithout consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • anónimoof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anónimolacking individuality
Swedish anonym, okänd
  • anonymwanting a name, not named and determined
  • okändwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonymwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • anonymof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • anonymiseradof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Turkish adsız, isimsiz
  • adsızwanting a name, not named and determined
  • isimsizwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anonimwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • isimsizwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • adsızwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
Ukrainian аноні́мний, безіме́нний
  • аноні́мний (anonímnyj)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • безіме́нний (beziménnyj)wanting a name, not named and determined
  • безіме́нний (beziménnyj)without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
Vietnamese vô danh, ẩn danh
  • vô danhwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • ẩn danhwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • nặc danhwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • vô danhof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • ẩn danhof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • nặc danhof unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • giấu tênof unknown name; whose name is withheld
Welsh dienw, anhysbys
  • dienwwanting a name, not named and determined
  • anhysbyswanting a name, not named and determined
  • dienwwithout any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with anonymous

autonomoussynonymouspseudonymoushomonymousallonymousantonymousautonymousheteronymousholonymoushyponymousmeronymousorthonymousparonymouspolyonymous
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

anonymous. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anonymous

MLA

“anonymous.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anonymous. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “anonymous,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/anonymous.

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