Anonymously

How to spell anonymously

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce anonymously

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does anonymously mean?

1. adverbIn a way that keeps the person's name or identity unknown or withheld.

Anonymously in a sentence

• The donor gave the money anonymously and asked for no recognition.

• Staff can report safety concerns anonymously through the online form.

Where does anonymously come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek anonymos, which was built from an-, meaning 'without', and onoma, meaning 'name', so the literal sense was simply 'nameless'. Latin adopted the term as anonymus, and from there it passed into English in the early 1600s, first as the adjective 'anonymous' describing a work or person whose name was unknown or withheld. The adverb 'anonymously' was formed in English by adding the familiar -ly ending to that adjective. The Greek onoma sits inside a whole family of English words about naming, including 'synonym', 'pseudonym', and 'antonym', which is a useful clue that the tricky middle is spelled o-n-y-m, not -nim. The double 'n' at the start (an- plus onym) and the unstressed vowels in the middle are exactly where careful writers slip.

How the word is built

• an- (without)
• onym (name, from Greek onoma)
• -ous (adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)