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anomie

 - 4 dictionary results

an⋅o⋅mie

  [an-uh-mee]
–noun Sociology.
a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people.
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Also, an⋅o⋅my.

Origin:
1930–35; < F < Gk anomía lawlessness. See a- 6 , -nomy

Related forms:
a⋅nom⋅ic  [uh-nom-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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an·o·mie or an·o·my   (ān'ə-mē)   
n.  

  1. Social instability caused by erosion of standards and values.

  2. Alienation and purposelessness experienced by a person or a class as a result of a lack of standards, values, or ideals: "We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie and rage" (Charles Krauthammer).


[French, from Greek anomiā, lawlessness, from anomos, lawless : a-, without; see a-1 + nomos, law; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]
a·nom'ic (ə-nŏm'ĭk, ə-nō'mĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

anomie 
1591, anomy, "disregard of law," from Gk. a- "without" + nomos "law" (see numismatics). The modern use, with Fr. spelling (from Durkheim's "Suicide," 1897), is first attested 1933 and means "absence of accepted social values."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: an·o·mie
Variant: also an·o·my /'an-&-mE/
Function: noun
: social instability resulting from abreakdown of standards and values; also : personal unrest, alienation, and anxiety that comes from a lack of purpose or ideals
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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