anonymous

a·non·y·mous

Use anonymous in a sentence

adjective

The definition of anonymous is of unknown name or origin.

An author who does not put his name on his books is an example of someone who is anonymous.

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"anonymous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous>.

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anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous

anonymous

with no name known or acknowledged
given, written, etc. by a person whose name is withheld or unknown
not easily distinguished from others or from one another because of a lack of individual features or character

Origin of anonymous

Late Latin anonymus from Classical Greek an?nymos from an-, without + onyma, name

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"anonymous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous>.

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anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous

anonymous

adjective

Having an unknown or unacknowledged name: an anonymous author.
Having an unknown or withheld authorship or agency: an anonymous letter.
Having no distinctive character or recognition factor: “They were carried over a bridge above an anonymous parade of shops” ( Elizabeth Speller )

Origin of anonymous

From Late Latin anōnymus from Greek anōnumos nameless an- without ; see a- ¹. onuma name ( influenced by earlier nōnumnos nameless ); see nō-men- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

a·non′y·mous·ly
adverb

a·non′y·mous·ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"anonymous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous>.

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anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous

Adjective

(comparative more anonymous, superlative most anonymous)

(not comparable) Lacking a name; not named and determined, as an animal not assigned to any species.
(not comparable) Without any name acknowledged of a person responsible, as that of author, contributor, or the like.
an anonymous pamphlet; an anonymous subscription.
(not comparable) Of unknown name; whose name is withheld
an anonymous author; an anonymous benefactor.
No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.
(comparable, figuratively) Lacking individuality.
an anonymous office block in a soulless industrial estate

Related terms

Origin

Borrowed into English around 1600 from Late Latin anonymus, from Ancient Greek ἀνώνυμος (anōnumos, “without name”), from ἀν- (an, “without”) + ὄνυμα (onuma), Aeolic dialectal form of ὄνομα (onoma, “name”).

Proper noun

A hacktivist group opposed to internet censorship, government corruption, homophobia and Scientology.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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"anonymous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous>.

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anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous

anonymous - Computer Definition

Computer crackers commonly attempt to exploit a computer system by sending messages in an anonymous fashion—protecting their identity from being disclosed. Anonymous accounts are used widely to access information and software-sharing systems on computers mainly using the FTP. The user accesses the systems by utilizing a user name of “anonymous” or “guest” without a password.

See Also: Computer; Crackers; File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"anonymous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 16 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous>.

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anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Anonymous

(1) Nameless. See anonymous post and anonymous Web surfing.

(2) (Anonymous) A loose, underground hacker community that attempts to bring down or damage websites of organizations and government agencies that are not socially responsible. Advocating freedom, fairness and justice, Anonymous became known to the public in a 2007 Los Angeles TV report and has since claimed responsibility for numerous break-ins. In 2010, it hacked PayPal, MasterCard and Visa for no longer accepting donations to WikiLeaks after the site disclosed U.S. military documents. See WikiLeaks. The Guy Fawkes Mask Anonymous adopted a mask created to honor Guy Fawkes as a symbol of rebellion in the 2005 movie "V for Vendetta." Fawkes was in charge of the gunpowder in a failed 1605 plot to blow up Parliament and restore a Catholic monarchy to England. About to be hanged to near death and then disemboweled, Fawkes jumped from the gallows and did himself in. In 1606, Parliament turned the foiled Gunpowder Plot into a national holiday.

Anonymous "Reconnect" Rally

In Amsterdam in 2008, Anonymous objected to Scientology ordering its members to "disconnect" with anyone not supportive of their beliefs. (Image courtesy of photographer John Melskens.)

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