anarchy: Meaning and Definition of

an•ar•chy

Pronunciation: (an'ur-kē), [key]
— n.
  1. a state of society without government or law.
  2. political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control: The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
  3. a theory that regards the absence of all direct or coercive government as a political ideal and that proposes the cooperative and voluntary association of individuals and groups as the principal mode of organized society.
  4. confusion; chaos; disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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