Definition

1. Noun:
   • A state of society characterized by a breakdown of social norms and values, leading to a lack of moral standards or guidance. This sense refers to a societal condition where rules are weak, unclear, or absent.
   • A personal condition of instability, isolation, and anxiety resulting from a lack of social regulation or normative structure. This sense refers to an individual's feeling of normlessness or alienation.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Societal Condition):

  • The rapid industrialization led to a period of anomy, as traditional rules no longer seemed to apply.
  • Sociologists study anomy to understand the effects of social upheaval on community behavior.

• Noun (Personal Condition):

  • After moving to the huge, impersonal city, he felt a deep sense of anomy and dislocation.
  • The loss of his job and community contributed to his feeling of anomy.

Advanced Usage

• "in a state of anomy": experiencing a condition of normlessness.
  • The refugees, cut off from their culture, were living in a state of anomy.

Variants and Related Words

• Anomie (n): This is the more common and preferred spelling in sociological contexts, with the same meanings as "anomy."
  • Durkheim's concept of anomie is central to the study of social order.

Synonyms

• Normlessness: The state of being without social norms.
• Alienation: A feeling of being isolated or estranged from a group or society.
• Social instability: A lack of order or predictability in social structures.

Noun

1. lack of moral standards in a society
2. personal state of isolation and anxiety resulting from a lack of social control and regulation