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

The lawsuit claims the anonymous male celebrity vaginally raped the 13-year-old girl while Combs and the female celebrity watched; then, Combs allegedly raped her while the other two watched. —Christian Holub, EW.com, 21 Oct. 2024

The documents surfaced on a Telegram channel called Middle East Spectator, an anonymous blog that frequently publishes pro-Iran content. —Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2024

Employers can survey workers to get a feel (keep it anonymous). —Emily Peck, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024

One catch, however, is that the public does not know who sits on the experts’ group—all its members are anonymous, as is its chair. —David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 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