anonymous

adjective

anon·​y·​mous ə-ˈnä-nə-məs 

1

: of unknown authorship or origin

an anonymous tip

2

: not named or identified

an anonymous author

They wish to remain anonymous.

3

: lacking individuality, distinction, or recognizability

the anonymous faces in the crowd

… the gray anonymous streets …

—William Styron

anonymousness noun

Synonyms

• certain
• given
• one
• some
• unidentified
• unnamed
• unspecified

Examples of anonymous in a Sentence

The donor wishes to remain anonymous.

An anonymous buyer purchased the painting.

The college received an anonymous gift.

He made an anonymous phone call to the police.

The reporter got an anonymous tip.

His was just another anonymous face in the crowd.

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of various agencies like 311 and the police acting on anonymous complaints, the night mayor office now mediates between neighbors and venues to find long-term sound-abatement solutions. —Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024

Paris Hilton Spends $700 at Party City Hours Before Son Phoenix's Birth to Decorate Delivery Suite According to the anonymous source, the team was told the company believed the trip posed a safety risk, because Party City had stopped paying its suppliers. —Gil MacIas, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024

Authorities say Brian Williams, a top deputy to Mayor Karen Bass, is suspected of sending an anonymous threat about a bomb inside City Hall in October. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2024

Knowing you all are there, anonymous, in the seedy place together, can quickly endear you to other users with expediency and a total absence of shame. —Fran Tirado, Them, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin anōnymos, anōnymus "lacking a name" (borrowed from Greek anṓnymos "lacking a name, unnamed, not well-known or remembered," from an- an- + -ōnymos, derivative in adjectival compounds of ónoma, Doric and Aeolic dialects ónyma "name") + -ous — more at name entry 1

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

anonymous

adjective

anon·​y·​mous ə-ˈnän-ə-məs 

1

: not named or identified

the donor remained anonymous

2

: made or done by someone unknown

anonymous gifts

an anonymous poem

anonymously adverb

anonymousness noun

Etymology

from Latin anonymus "anonymous," from Greek anonymos (same meaning), from an-, a- "not, without" and onyma, onoma "name" — related to synonymous