anachronism
/ə'nækrənizm/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age: An individual whose ideas, behavior, or appearance are considered outdated or not fitting for the present period.
- An artifact that belongs to another time: An object, custom, or institution that is chronologically out of place in its current setting.
- Something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred: An error in chronology, especially the placing of an event, person, or thing in the wrong historical period.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- In the modern digital office, his insistence on using a typewriter made him seem like an anachronism.
- The film was criticized for the anachronism of a wristwatch on a Roman soldier.
- The historian pointed out the anachronism of depicting medieval knights with 18th-century firearms.
Advanced Usage
- As a concept in art and literature: Anachronism is often used deliberately for stylistic, humorous, or thematic effect.
- The painter's use of anachronism, placing contemporary figures in Renaissance scenes, creates a thought-provoking dialogue between eras.
- In a figurative sense: Can describe anything that feels conspicuously out of step with its surroundings.
- The quaint, family-owned bookstore felt like a charming anachronism on the street of corporate chains.
Variants and Related Words
- Anachronistic (adj): Pertaining to or involving an anachronism; outdated.
- The anachronistic policy failed to address modern economic realities.
- Anachronistically (adv): In an anachronistic manner.
- The character was anachronistically dressed in Victorian attire.
Synonyms
- Chronological error: A mistake in time ordering.
- Outdated person/thing: Something or someone no longer current.
- Incongruity: The state of being out of place.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "A living anachronism": A phrase used to describe a person who embodies the customs or mindset of a past era.
- With his formal manners and love for handwritten letters, my grandfather was a living anachronism.
- "An anachronism in the modern world": A common collocation emphasizing something's outdated nature in contemporary society.
- The old-fashioned telephone booth is an anachronism in the modern world of smartphones.
Noun
- a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age
- an artifact that belongs to another time
- something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred