# anarchy

Pronunciation: US say "AN-ahr-kee" /ˈæ.nɑɹ.ki/; UK/AUS say "AN-uh-kee" /ˈæ.nə.ki/

## Noun

1. A chaotic and confusing condition in which no political authority or government of any kind exists.
   - Simple: A situation with no government or anyone in power, where everything is out of control and confusing.
   - _In the months after the war, anarchy reigned in the border towns, where no sheriff or court remained and every quarrel ended in gunfire._
   - _When the regime collapsed overnight, the capital slid into a violent anarchy of looting and street fighting._
2. Disorder and confusion in any situation or area of activity, not just in matters of government.
   - Simple: A lack of order in any place or activity, where things are messy and confused.
   - _Once the referee walked off, the pickup game was total anarchy, with players arguing over every call._
   - _Her desk was a cheerful anarchy of notebooks, coffee cups, and unopened mail._
3. A condition in which a society has no authorities and no governing body with power over it.
   - Simple: The condition of a society that has no government and no one in power over it.
   - _The commune's founders insisted that anarchy could be as orderly as any kingdom, because neighbors would settle their own disputes._
   - _In the novel, the Mars colonists live in anarchy: no one issues orders, and every decision is reached together._

## Noun

4. A political theory that sees government as inherently coercive and holds that individuals cooperating voluntarily provide the best way to organize a community. *(rare)*
   - Simple: The political belief that a community is best run by people cooperating freely, not by a government, which always uses force.
   - _As a student he embraced anarchy, convinced that every government, however it comes to power, rests on coercion._
   - _The seminar treated anarchy as a serious philosophy, weighing its claim that voluntary cooperation could run a city of a million people._

## Origin

From New Latin anarchia, which comes from Ancient Greek ἀναρχία (anarkhía). By surface analysis, it can be seen as an- + -archy.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/anarchy (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).