Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ANACHRONISTIC
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connect today's word to others:
If you've ever been out with your grandparents when they dropped some hideously racist or sexist term into the conversation, you know what an anachronism is. Granddad isn't hateful; he's just behind the times.
Something outdated and cringey, something awkward and inappropriate, something that just doesn't fit in with the modern world is anachronistic.
I love that word, anachronistic, how it criticizes so gently, saying, "This...you know, this isn't wrong all the time, it's just wrong right here, right now."
Let's recall two not-so-gentle synonyms of anachronistic:
1. Something ob_______nt isn't quite obsolete yet, but it's fading from popularity or acceptance.
2. Something old-____led is bafflingly old-fashioned, or it sticks to the old way of doing things.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"ANACHRONISTIC"
From Greek roots meaning "against time," anachronisms are things or people that don't fit in correctly with the time period they're in. In other words, an anachronism doesn't match with its time period: it's either behind the times or inappropriately futuristic.
Notice how anachronisms occur in both fiction and real life. When a movie that takes place in 1970 has characters singing a song that didn't come out until 1978, that's an anachronism. And when our country uses a slow, difficult, outdated system of filing taxes, that's a real-life anachronism.
So, anachronistic things and people are out of place in time, either behind the times or inappropriately futuristic.
Pronunciation:
uh NACK ruh NISS tick
Part of speech:
Adjective: "an anachronistic attitude," "the play is anachronistic."
Other forms:
Only the noun is common: anachronisms are things or people that mismatch with their own time periods.
(All the other forms of the word are rare.)
How to use it:
This word is a bit formal and a bit critical, but you can still use it for humor and exaggeration.
When we apply the word "anachronistic" to real-life things, we usually mean "behind the times, out of date, foolishly old-fashioned, passé." Less often, we mean "ahead of the times," like this: "In a time when women were expected to work in the home, the physician Elizabeth Blackwell was anachronistic."
And when we apply the word to fictional things, like in novels and movies and retrofuturistic theme park rides (I'm looking at you, Spaceship Earth), we mean either "behind the times" or "ahead of the times." Or in the case of a true hot mess of a film, both. So you'll love to use this word if you enjoy watching historical movies, clearing your throat, and announcing, "Actually, back then they didn't _____ anymore," or "Actually, back then they didn't _____ yet."
Just not in the theater, okay?
Elsewhere, talk about anachronistic things, objects, music, fashion, and technologies; anachronistic people, comments, expressions, comparisons, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and philosophies; and anachronistic policies, expectations, activities, habits, choices, and so on.
You can also say that people are anachronistic in their habits, in their views or their thinking, etc.
examples:
To some of us, the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is an anachronism, a houseguest still hanging around since the 1950s, still insisting that religious belief defines the American spirit.
"My school bus passed [the brothels] every morning. I wasn’t shocked or disgusted or traumatized by them. I loved them—loved their vibrant colors, their anachronistic stick-built architecture of flower boxes and dormer windows in a dusty, forgotten town of stucco and trailers. When I was a girl, the brothels made me proud of my home, proved us a place where we mind our own beeswax."
— Claire Vaye Watkins, The New Yorker, 4 November 2018
has this page helped you understand "anachronistic"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "anachronistic" without saying "outmoded" or "out of place in time."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Today, we (do things a certain way, or hold a certain belief); _____ (is/are) anachronistic."
Example: "Today, we use 'person-first' language that acknowledges humanity before disability, and we emphasize how people use assistive devices; terms like 'the wheelchair-bound' are anachronistic."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Quintessential TV Quotes!
Each day, match the given vocabulary word to the quote that best illustrates it.
From the previous issue:
From Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which quote below illustrates braggadocio?
Quote A:
Ignignokt: You and your "third dimension."
Frylock: Yeah? What about it?
Ignignokt: Oh, nothing. It's cute. We have five.
Err: Th-thousand.
Ignignokt: Yes, five thousand.
Quote B:
Meatwad: Science is a mystery to man, isn't it, Frylock?
Frylock: Yeah, it sure is, Meatwad...
Meatwad: Like how we all evolved from the ancient dinosaur. I wish I had some of their stuff, boy. Like them tail. Them tails that make 'em fly.
Quote C:
Frylock (reading): The curse of the mummy is just a figure of speech. ... The real curse of the mummy is that he is completely socially inept, devoid of all manners, gold-digging, manipulative, and a selfish brat. Don't ever wake him unless you have a lot of time and money on your hands. Thank you for buying Mummies for Dummies.
Answer: In quote A, Ignignokt and Err are full of braggadocio about how many dimensions their world has.
Try this one today:
From 3rd Rock from the Sun, which quote below illustrates something catchpenny?
Quote A:
Tourist: Excuse me, we've been driving around for hours. Do you know of any hotels that have rooms?
Harry: I believe that all hotels have rooms.
Quote B:
Vincent Strudwick: So... what'd you think of the book?
Dick: As bathroom fare? A triumph!
Quote C:
Sally: The Official Boy Scouts' Guidebook. Who're the Boy Scouts?
Harry: They're an elite, prepubescent, paramilitary society and I'm going to follow their ways.
review today's word:
1. A close opposite of ANACHRONISTIC is
A. FITTING.
B. PUNCTUAL.
C. IMPRESSIVE.
2. His grandmother's text messages are adorably anachronistic, like this one: "_____."
A. Dear Grandson, Wow, congratulations. Love, Grandma.
B. I'm mighty tired of those men yelling at each other on TV.
C. We're heading on down to the Kroger's, then the Mac Donald's.
a final word:
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
If you've ever been out with your grandparents when they dropped some hideously racist or sexist term into the conversation, you know what an anachronism is. Granddad isn't hateful; he's just behind the times.
"ANACHRONISTIC" From Greek roots meaning "against time," anachronisms are things or people that don't fit in correctly with the time period they're in. In other words, an anachronism doesn't match with its time period: it's either behind the times or inappropriately futuristic.
To some of us, the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is an anachronism, a houseguest still hanging around since the 1950s, still insisting that religious belief defines the American spirit.
Explain the meaning of "anachronistic" without saying "outmoded" or "out of place in time."
Fill in the blanks: "Today, we (do things a certain way, or hold a certain belief); _____ (is/are) anachronistic."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A close opposite of ANACHRONISTIC is
|