Standard Lemma guide

anonymous

adj · name · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /əˈnɒn.ə.məs/
  • Canada, US: /əˈnɑ.nə.məs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /əˈnɔn.ə.məs/
  • rhymes with -ɒnəməs
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N AA1 N AH0 M AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nameless

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Without any name acknowledged of a person responsible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • an anonymous pamphlet
  • an anonymous subscription
  • anonymous author or painter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: autonymous, orthonymous

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of unknown name; whose name is withheld

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • an anonymous author
  • an anonymous benefactor
  • No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unidentified, unknown, unnamed

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Lacking individuality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: comparable, figuratively

Examples

  • an anonymous office block in a soulless industrial estate

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: faceless

Antonyms: none provided

5

name

Meaning 5

A decentralized hacktivist group that conducts cyberattacks opposing primarily Internet censorship and government corruption.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

name

Meaning 6

A member of an anonymous imageboard website, especially of 4chan.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

name

Meaning 7

The members of an anonymous imageboard website, especially of 4chan.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Internet, collective

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective

Meaning 8

having no known name or identity or known source

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • anonymous authors
  • anonymous donors
  • an anonymous gift

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: anon.

Antonyms: onymous

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

not known or lacking marked individuality

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • brown anonymous houses
  • anonymous bureaucrats in the Civil Service

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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 anonym + -ous, its full etymology being an- + -onym + -ous.

Across languages

Translations

165 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَجْهُول (majhūl) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Armenian: անանուն (ananun) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Assamese: নিনাও (ninaü) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Belarusian: анані́мны (ananímny) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Belarusian: бязыме́нны (bjazymjénny) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Breton: dizanv — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Bulgarian: бези́менен (bezímenen) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Bulgarian: анони́мен (anonímen) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Catalan: anònim — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Chinese Mandarin: 無名 /无名 (wúmíng) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Chinese Mandarin: 匿名 (nìmíng) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Czech: bezejmenný — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Danish: anonym — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Danish: ukendt — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Dutch: naamloos — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Dutch: onbenoemd — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Esperanto: anonima — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Faroese: ónevndur — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Finnish: nimetön — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • French: anonyme — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Galician: anónimo — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Georgian: ანონიმური (anonimuri) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Georgian: უსახელო (usaxelo) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Georgian: სახელდაურქმეველი (saxeldaurkmeveli) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • German: namenlos — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Greek: ανώνυμος (anónymos) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Ancient Greek: ἀνώνυμος (anṓnumos) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Hindi: अनाम (anām) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Hindi: अज्ञात (agyāt) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Hindi: अनामक (anāmak) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Hungarian: névtelen — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Japanese: 無名 (mumei no) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Japanese: 匿名の (tokumei no) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Korean: 익명의 (ingmyeong'ui) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Korean: 무명 (mumyeong) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Lithuanian: bevardis — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Macedonian: бе́зимен (bézimen) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Macedonian: анони́мен (anonímen) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Manx: neuennymagh — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Norwegian Bokmål: anonym — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Polish: bezimienny — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Polish: anonimowy — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Portuguese: anónimo — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Portuguese: anônimo — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Romanian: anonim — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Russian: анони́мный (anonímnyj) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Russian: безымя́нный (bezymjánnyj) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Scottish Gaelic: gun urrainn — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Serbo-Croatian: а̏нонӣман — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȁnonīman — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Slovak: bezmenný — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Slovene: anonimen — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Spanish: anónimo — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Swedish: anonym — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Swedish: okänd — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Turkish: adsız — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Turkish: isimsiz — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Ukrainian: аноні́мний (anonímnyj) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Ukrainian: безіме́нний (beziménnyj) — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Welsh: dienw — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Welsh: anhysbys — wanting a name, not named and determined
  • Albanian: paemër — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Armenian: անանուն (ananun) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Belarusian: безыме́нны (bjezymjénny) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Belarusian: безназо́ўны (bjeznazówny) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Bulgarian: анони́мен (anonímen) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Catalan: anònim — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Chinese Mandarin: 佚名 (yìmíng) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Czech: anonymní — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Danish: anonym — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Dutch: naamloos — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Dutch: anoniem — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Esperanto: anonima — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Esperanto: sennoma — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Finnish: nimetön — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • French: anonyme — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Georgian: ანონიმური (anonimuri) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • German: anonym — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Greek: ανώνυμος (anónymos) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Hebrew: אַלְמוֹנִי (almoní) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Hebrew: אנונימי (anoními) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Interlingua: anonyme — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Italian: anonimo — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Lithuanian: bevardis — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Macedonian: бе́зимен (bézimen) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Macedonian: анони́мен (anonímen) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Manx: neuennymagh — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Polish: anonimowy — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Polish: bezimienny — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Portuguese: anónimo — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Portuguese: anônimo — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Romanian: anonim — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Russian: безымя́нный (bezymjánnyj) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Scottish Gaelic: gun urrainn — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Serbo-Croatian: а̏нонӣман — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȁnonīman — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Slovene: anonimen — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Spanish: anónimo — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Swedish: anonym — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Turkish: anonim — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Turkish: isimsiz — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Turkish: adsız — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Ukrainian: безіме́нний (beziménnyj) — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Vietnamese: vô danh — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Vietnamese: ẩn danh — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Vietnamese: nặc danh — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Welsh: dienw — without any name (of responsible agent) acknowledged
  • Albanian: paemër — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Arabic: مَجْهُول (majhūl) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Armenian: անանուն (ananun) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Bulgarian: анони́мен (anonímen) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Catalan: anònim — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Czech: anonymní — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Danish: anonym — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Dutch: naamloos — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Dutch: anoniem — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Esperanto: anonima — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Esperanto: sennoma — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Finnish: anonyymi — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • French: anonyme — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Georgian: ანონიმური (anonimuri) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • German: anonym — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Greek: ανώνυμος (anónymos) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Hungarian: névtelen — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Interlingua: anonyme — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Italian: anonimo — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Lithuanian: bevardis — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Macedonian: анони́мен (anonímen) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Macedonian: неи́звесен (neízvesen) — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Malay: tidak bernama — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Manx: neuennymagh — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Polish: anonimowy — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Polish: bezimienny — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Portuguese: anónimo — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Portuguese: anônimo — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Romanian: anonim — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Scottish Gaelic: gun urrainn — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Serbo-Croatian: а̏нонӣман — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȁnonīman — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Slovak: anonymný — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Slovene: anonimen — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Spanish: anónimo — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Swedish: anonym — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Swedish: anonymiserad — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Vietnamese: vô danh — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Vietnamese: ẩn danh — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Vietnamese: nặc danh — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Vietnamese: giấu tên — of unknown name; whose name is withheld
  • Esperanto: anonima — lacking individuality
  • Finnish: nimetön — lacking individuality
  • French: anonyme — lacking individuality
  • Interlingua: anonyme — lacking individuality
  • Italian: anonimo — lacking individuality
  • Polish: anonimowy — lacking individuality
  • Polish: bezimienny — lacking individuality
  • Portuguese: anónimo — lacking individuality
  • Portuguese: anônimo — lacking individuality
  • Spanish: anónimo — lacking individuality
  • Esperanto: anonima — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • French: anonyme — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • Interlingua: anonyme — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • Italian: anonimo — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • Portuguese: anónimo — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • Portuguese: anônimo — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
  • Spanish: anónimo — without consideration of prestige, title, rank or background
Real reading context

anonymous in complete knowledge articles