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
William Styron
anonymousness
noun
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
About a dozen of them were fired in February, according to a USDA bee-lab researcher who asked to remain anonymous to protect their job; some were rehired temporarily, then placed on administrative leave.
—Joanna Thompson, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
According to sources, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect relationships, the money is most likely to be invested in improving the women’s training facilities at Cobham, which many behind the scenes believe have fallen behind those offered by WSL rivals.
—Asli Pelit, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Responses remain anonymous to protect employee confidentiality and give companies unfiltered feedback.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2025
In a post shared to Reddit, the anonymous 31-year-old man explained that Max passed away last year.
—Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for anonymous
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Joanna Thompson, The Atlantic, 20 May 2025
According to sources, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect relationships, the money is most likely to be invested in improving the women’s training facilities at Cobham, which many behind the scenes believe have fallen behind those offered by WSL rivals.
—Asli Pelit, New York Times, 19 May 2025
Responses remain anonymous to protect employee confidentiality and give companies unfiltered feedback.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2025
In a post shared to Reddit, the anonymous 31-year-old man explained that Max passed away last year.
—Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for anonymous
Cite this Entry
“Anonymous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anonymous. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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