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anonymous

[uh-non-uh-muhs]

Origin

adjective

without any name acknowledged, as that of author, contributor, or the like: an anonymous letter to the editor; an anonymous donation.

of unknown name; whose name is withheld: an anonymous author.

lacking individuality, unique character, or distinction: an endless row of drab, anonymous houses.

Origin:
1595–1605; < Latin anōnymus < Greek anṓnymos, equivalent to an- an-¹ + -ōnym(a) (variant of ónyma) -onym (earlier (a)n- with vowel lengthening; compare anopheles) + -os adj. suffix; see -ous

Related forms

a·non·y·mous·ness, noun

a·non·y·mous·ly, adverb

non·a·non·y·mous·ness, noun

Can be confused: 1. anomalous, anonymous, euonymus, unanimous; 2. anonymous, pseudonymous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To anonymous<br

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Anonymous<br is an SAT word you need to know.

So is atrocious. Does it mean:

shockingly bad or tasteless

practice or methods of a fraudulent pretender

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Collins

World English Dictionary

anonymous (əˈnɒnɪməs)

—*adj*
1.	from or by a person, author, etc, whose name is unknown or withheld: an anonymous letter
2.	having no known name
3.	lacking individual characteristics; unexceptional
4.	(often capital) denoting an organization which provides help to applicants who remain anonymous: Alcoholics Anonymous

[C17: via Late Latin from Greek anōnumos, from an- + onoma name]

anonymity

—n

a'nonymously

—*adv*

a'nonymousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

anonymous

c.1600, from Gk. anonymos "without a name," from an- "without" + onyma, Æolic dialectal form of onoma "name" (see name). Related: Anonymity (1820).

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