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

This perspective aligns with moves like Lummis's 2023 amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, targeting anonymous transactions and asset mixers, and shows how the SRA framework could enforce stringent oversight, reducing bitcoin's utility as a censorship-resistant currency. —Susie Violet Ward, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

In the anonymous world of football message boards, anybody could be lurking. —Phil Hay, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025

According to Bloomberg and Reuters, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Trump is also planning to create a crypto advisory council shortly after taking office, and to review several regulations concerning the ownership of digital assets. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025

Thousands of poor, tired, anonymous Montgomery women and men, who trudged through winter’s inclement weather and summer’s blistering heat for 381 days, made that boycott a success. —Paul L. Newman, New York Daily News, 20 Jan. 2025

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