French word

anomie

Pronunciation

IPA/anɔmi/

Meaning

  • feminine nounnormlessness

Example

Depuis la crise, l'anomie règne dans le quartier.

Since the crisis, normlessness has prevailed in the neighborhood.

Illustration for anomie (normlessness)

More examples

Je ressens de l'anomie quand les valeurs communes disparaissent.

I feel anomie when shared values disappear.

Core concept

A neighborhood has no common yardstick for behavior, so each person acts without a clear social guide.

Similar words

confusion: A state where circumstances or information are muddled and hard to assess or act on.
désordre: A state lacking order or arrangement, with its structure and coherence lost.

Definition in French

Terme pour la perte des repères collectifs et la difficulté à suivre des règles communes.

Word origin

French borrowed anomie from Greek anomia, whose elements are a- 'without' and nomos 'law or custom'.

Usage tips

  • Anomie belongs mainly to sociological and political language, so a concrete cause or example often clarifies it.

Other meanings

  • social disordernoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word