What does anonymous mean?

Definitions for anonymous
əˈnɒn ə məsanony·mous

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word anonymous.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. anonymous, anon.adjective

    having no known name or identity or known source

    "anonymous authors"; "anonymous donors"; "an anonymous gift"

  2. anonymousadjective

    not known or lacking marked individuality

    "brown anonymous houses"; "anonymous bureaucrats in the Civil Service"

Wiktionary

  1. anonymousadjective

    Lacking a name; not named and determined, as an animal not assigned to any species.

  2. anonymousadjective

    Without any name acknowledged of a person responsible, as that of author, contributor, or the like.

    an anonymous pamphlet; an anonymous subscription.

  3. anonymousadjective

    Of unknown name; whose name is withheld

    an anonymous author; an anonymous benefactor.

  4. anonymousadjective

    Lacking individuality.

    an anonymous office block in a soulless industrial estate

  5. Etymology: Borrowed into English around 1600 from anonymus, from ἀνώνυμος, from ἀν- + ὄνυμα, Aeolic dialectal form of ὄνομα.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Anonymousadjective

    Wanting a name.

    Etymology:priv. and ὄνομα.

    These animalcules serve also for food to another anonymous insect of the waters. John Ray, on the Creation.

    They would forthwith publish slanders unpunished, the authors being anonymous, the immediate publishers thereof sculking. Notes on the Dunciad.

ChatGPT

  1. anonymous

    Anonymous refers to the state of being unidentified or unnamed. When a person, action, or work is anonymous, its author or actor is not known or cannot be recognized. It often aims to protect someone's identity for various reasons, such as privacy, confidentiality, or security.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Anonymousadjective

    nameless; of unknown name; also, of unknown or unavowed authorship; as, an anonymous benefactor; an anonymous pamphlet or letter

  2. Etymology: [Gr. without name; 'an priv. + , Eol. for name. See Name.]

Wikidata

  1. Anonymous

    "Anonymous" is the second single from Bobby Valentino's second album, Special Occasion The song features and was produced by Timbaland.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Anonymous

    an-on′im-us, adj. wanting a name: not having the name of the author, as distinguished from pseudonymous, when another than his real name has been given.—ns. An′onym, a person whose name is not given: a pseudonym; Anonym′ity, the quality or state of being anonymous.—adv. Anon′ymously. [Gr. anōnymosa, an, neg., and onoma, name.]

Suggested Resources

  1. anonymous

    anonymous poems -- Explore a large selection of poetry work created by anonymous on Poetry.net

  2. anonymous

    Quotes by anonymous -- Explore a large variety of famous quotes made by anonymous on the Quotes.net website.

  3. anonymous

    Song lyrics by anonymous -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by anonymous on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. ANONYMOUS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Anonymous is ranked #131379 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Anonymous surname appeared 129 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Anonymous.

    78.2% or 101 total occurrences were White.
    5.4% or 7 total occurrences were Asian.
    5.4% or 7 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    4.6% or 6 total occurrences were Black.

British National Corpus

  1. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'anonymous' in Adjectives Frequency: #930

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce anonymous?

How to say anonymous in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of anonymous in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of anonymous in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of anonymous in a Sentence

  1. Montana Miller:

    The Internet scrutiny of her body has pushed her over the limit that any person would experience, perhaps her seemingly inappropriate posting of nearly nude photos is an in-your-face rebellious response. [It’s] a way of asserting that she owns her body and not the massive anonymous invisible crowd of critics out there who have been haranguing her for the past months.

  2. The WBO:

    The Jeff Horn vs. Manny Pacquiao bout results were controversial, causing disputes amongst fans. For this reason, transparency is so important, based on this, five anonymous, competent judges from different countries were asked to watch the bout without sound.

  3. President Barack Obama:

    Those countless often anonymous heroes deserve our thanks. They should be very proud. America should be very proud.

  4. Frank Barefield:

    So, you could literally call with your tip today, pick up your money in cash next week and you're totally anonymous, there's no better deal in town than that.

  5. Simone Weil:

    When science, art, literature, and philosophy are simply the manifestation of personality they are on a level where glorious and dazzling achievements are possible, which can make a man's name live for thousands of years. But above this level, far above, separated by an abyss, is the level where the highest things are achieved. These things are essentially anonymous.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

anonymous#1#2440#10000

Translations for anonymous

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"anonymous." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 8 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/anonymous>.

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