anarchy

anarchy 1 Anarchy, anarchism overlap in their implications but are not synonyms because of differing denotations.

Anarchy may denote a state or condition of society where there is no law or imposed order because social evolution has rendered these unnecessary

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first the proletarian revolution . . . then the dictatorship of the proletariat; and lastly, the classless society: that is the Marxian order of advance towards communism and anarchy, towards justice, equality and perfect freedom— Plamenatz

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It may, on the other hand, denote one of complete disorder resulting from the breakdown of normal controls

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for our people liberty so often means only license and anarchy— Sulzberger

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Anarchism denotes a theory that government is an evil because it imposes limitations upon the freedom of the individual

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nihilism is a form of anarchism

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The same distinctions extend to their respective adjectives anarchic and anarchistic

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anarchic disorder

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anarchic conditions

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anarchistic influences

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anarchistic doctrines

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Anarchist when used adjectivally is often ambiguous since it is related to both anarchism and anarchy

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an anarchist plot to assassinate the prime minister

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2 Anarchy, chaos, lawlessness denote in common absence, suspension, breakdown, or widespread defiance of government, law, and order.

Anarchy is the total absence or suspension of government

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by the adoption of the Constitution our country passed from weakness to strength, from anarchy to order, from death to life— Muzzey

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Chaos is the utter negation of order

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a process calculated to reduce the orderly life of our complicated societies to chaos— Huxley

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Lawlessness signifies a prevalent or habitual disregard of law and order rather than their absence or suspension

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the traditional lawlessness of the frontier community

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When anarchy and lawlessness (or their adjectives) are used of actions rather than of a state of things, there is often little distinction of meaning

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the hydrogen atom was not conforming to the canons of the classical music of physics, and yet it was not anarchic in the least, for . . . it was flawlessly obeying the laws of a different music— Darrow

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illusion is not lawless. It is a world apart, if you please, but within it are its own necessities, which exact inexorable adherence to their mandates— Lowes

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Antonyms: order: discipline