anonymous
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
having a name that is not known or is not made public.
of unknown or undisclosed authorship or identity. Often used when a person chooses to hide their name for privacy or safety.
Simple“The police received an anonymous tip about the robbery from a caller who refused to give their name.”
In context“The museum received a significant donation from an anonymous benefactor who requested that their identity remain confidential for tax purposes.”
UsageUsually placed before the noun it describes.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
having no special features or character, making it look like everything else.
lacking individual features or distinctive character; unremarkable and easily forgotten.
Simple“The company moved into an anonymous grey office building in the middle of the city.”
In context“The suburbs were filled with anonymous housing developments that lacked any sense of local history or architectural charm.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is more abstract; it suggests that something is so plain that it has no 'identity' of its own.
SynonymsAntonyms
“But someone has discovered her past and is sending anonymous letters, and when the elderly man next door dies unexpectedly, she becomes the prime suspect.”
“He announced that the jury would be anonymous, with the names only available to lawyers and other parties on the case.”
Borrowed into English around 1600 from Late Latin anonymus, from Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νώνῠμος (ănṓnŭmos, “without name”), from ᾰ̓ν- (ăn-, “un-”) with ὄνῠμᾰ (ónŭmă), Aeolic and Doric dialectal form of ὄνομᾰ (ónomă, “name”). English equivalent anonym + -ous, its full etymology being an- + -onym + -ous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.