anomie
an·o·mie
or an·o·my (ăn′ə-mē)n.
1. Social instability caused by erosion of standards and values.
2. Alienation and purposelessness experienced by a person or a class as a result of a lack of standards, values, or ideals: "We must now brace ourselves for disquisitions on peer pressure, adolescent anomie and rage" (Charles Krauthammer).
[French, from Greek anomiā, lawlessness, from anomos, lawless : a-, without; see a-1 + nomos, law; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]
a·nom′ic (ə-nŏm′ĭk, ə-nō′mĭk) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
anomie
(ˈænəʊmɪ) oranomy
n
(Sociology) sociol lack of social or moral standards in an individual or society
[from Greek anomia lawlessness, from a-1 + nomos law]
anomic adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
an•o•mie
or an•o•my
(ˈæn əˌmi)n.
a condition of an individual or of society characterized by a breakdown or absence of norms and values or a sense of dislocation and alienation.
[1930–35; < French < Greek anomía lawlessness. See a-6, -nomy]
a•nom•ic (əˈnɒm ɪk) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also related terms for social.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
anomie, anomy, anomia
a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by an absence or breakdown of social and legal norms and values, as in the case of an uprooted people. — anomic, adj.
See also: Law-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
anomie
1. A term introduced by Durkheim to refer to a situation where the conditions for happiness are absent. Durkheim argued that one of the conditions for happiness was that there should be clear norms governing social behavior. The absence of these norms resulted in anomie and unhappiness.
2. A feeling of anxiety, hopelessness, and lack of purpose caused by the absence or breakdown of standards and values in society.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited