anachronism

[ uh-nak-ruh-niz-uhm ]
See synonyms for anachronism on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time: The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.

  2. an error in chronology in which a person, object, event, etc., is assigned a date or period other than the correct one: To assign Michelangelo to the 14th century is an anachronism.

Origin of anachronism

1
1640–50; <Latin anachronismus<Greek anachronismós a wrong time reference, equivalent to anachron(ízein) to make a wrong time reference (see ana-, chron-, -ize) + -ismos-ism

Other words from anachronism

  • an·a·chron·i·cal·ly [an-uh-kron-ik-lee], /ˌæn əˈkrɒn ɪk li/, adverb

Words Nearby anachronism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use anachronism in a sentence

  • It was to him more of an anachronism than any manifestation he had yet encountered, even at the Fort, that stronghold of the past.

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
  • But what is an anachronism of this kind compared to that which involves the principal character in one continued topsy-turveydom?

    The English Stage | Augustin Filon

British Dictionary definitions for anachronism

anachronism

/ (əˈnækrəˌnɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the representation of an event, person, or thing in a historical context in which it could not have occurred or existed

  2. a person or thing that belongs or seems to belong to another time: she regards the Church as an anachronism

Origin of anachronism

1
C17: from Latin anachronismus, from Greek anakhronismos a mistake in chronology, from anakhronizein to err in a time reference, from ana- + khronos time

Derived forms of anachronism

  • anachronistic, adjective
  • anachronistically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012