Meaning & use
anachronisms
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“anachronisms” is a form of “anachronism”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Things shown or mentioned in a time period where they could not have existed, such as a clock in an ancient play.
Grammar: Plural of anachronism: the film contains several anachronisms.
Patterns
- anachronisms in something
The historian noted several anachronisms in the film, including a modern wristwatch.
Anachronisms in the novel, like telephones in 1800, annoyed careful readers.
Check your costume drawings for anachronisms before the museum sees them.
nounpluraldisapproving
Old customs, institutions or beliefs that do not fit modern life.
Grammar: Often describes things that survive past their usefulness: such rules are anachronisms.
Patterns
- anachronisms of something
Some critics say the rules of the club are anachronisms that belong in another century.
Dress codes like these are anachronisms in a modern workplace.
The two wigs and heavy robes are anachronisms that the court refuses to give up.
Word forms
| singular | anachronism |
|---|
Common combinations
- historical anachronisms
- The play is full of historical anachronisms.
- glaring anachronisms
- There were glaring anachronisms in the costumes.
- spot anachronisms
- She is good at spotting anachronisms in period dramas.
- relics and anachronisms
- The old laws are relics and anachronisms.
- avoid anachronisms
- Writers must avoid anachronisms when writing historical fiction.
Synonyms and how they differ
- relics
- Relics are old objects kept from the past, while anachronisms are things that are out of place in time.
- throwbacks
- Throwbacks are things that resemble an earlier time and may be affectionate, while anachronisms are errors or misfits.
- mistakes
- Mistakes is a general word for errors, but anachronisms are errors specifically about time.
- holdovers
- Holdovers are things that remain from an earlier period, but they do not necessarily seem wrong or out of place.
Word family
- anachronism noun
- one thing out of its time
- anachronistic adjective
- belonging to a different time period
- anachronistically adverb
- in a way that is out of its time
- chronology noun
- the order in which events happened
Commonly confused: anachronisms or anachronism? anachronisms or antique?
anachronisms vs anachronism
The singular form takes an and a verb in the singular, so say an anachronism is rather than anachronisms is.
anachronisms vs antique
An antique is a valuable old object that is in the right period, while an anachronism is out of its period.
Practice
A cell phone in a film set in ancient Rome would be one of the film's ____.
Choose one answer.
Anachronisms are things placed in the wrong time period. Antiques are old valuable objects, so they do not describe an error of time.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “anachronisms”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.