# anthology

/ænˈθɑɫədʒi/ (US) · /ænθˈɒlədʒi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/anthology
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. literary collection

noun · CEFR B2

a book that contains a collection of poems, stories, or songs, usually by different authors.

For teachers: a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing, typically by different authors or selected from the works of a single author.

- The teacher asked us to read three poems from the new anthology of modern verse.
- The publisher released a definitive anthology of twentieth-century short stories, featuring both canonical authors and previously overlooked voices.

### 2. film or TV series

noun · CEFR B2

a series of films or television shows where each episode or part has a different story and different characters.

For teachers: a series of self-contained films or television episodes, often linked by a common theme or genre rather than a continuous plot.

- It is an anthology series, so you can watch the episodes in any order you like.
- The show's anthology format allowed the writers to explore diverse genres, ranging from psychological horror to satirical science fiction, within a single season.

### 3. general assortment

noun · CEFR C1 · Literary

a collection or mixture of different things.

For teachers: an assortment or collection of various items, used figuratively to describe a diverse mixture.

- The old shop sold an anthology of strange objects from all over the world.
- The attic was filled with a dusty anthology of family relics, spanning three generations of travel and domestic life.

## Examples

- She bought a new poetry anthology.
- The teacher assigned a short story anthology for the reading week.
- The anthology captures the diverse voices of the era, weaving together prose and verse from writers who would otherwise remain unknown to modern readers.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.