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# anachronism

noun (an anachronism, anachronisms)

«anachronism» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Something put in the wrong time, especially in a story or picture, like a wristwatch on a Roman soldier. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#m1)
2. A person, custom or thing that seems old-fashioned and belongs to an earlier time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history and reading lessons, spotting an anachronism means noticing that something could not have existed then; it tells the reader a writer or film-maker made a mistake or is playing a joke. Phrases: «a glaring anachronism», «a bit of an anachronism», «spot the anachronism».

### Examples

- The film showed a knight with a mobile phone, which is a funny anachronism. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x1)
- Can you spot the anachronism in this picture of ancient Egypt? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x2)
- A clock striking in Julius Caesar's Rome is an anachronism, because such clocks did not exist yet. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x3)
- Some people think writing cheques is an anachronism now that we pay by phone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x4)
- Grandad says the old red phone box is a lovely anachronism. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x5)
- Our teacher hid three anachronisms in the story about the Vikings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x6)
- A dinosaur next to cavemen is a famous anachronism in cartoons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x7)
- The steam train in the medieval story was an anachronism. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x8)
- My battery captain called me a Pachydermatous Anachronism the other day.” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/#x9)

### Note

Countable noun; plural «anachronisms». Adjective «anachronistic». Pronounced a-NAK-ro-nism. Do not confuse with «acronym» (a word made from first letters, like NASA). Dinosaurs and people never lived at the same time, so cartoons showing them together are anachronisms, not history.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «anachronism» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/anachronism/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«anachronism» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/anachronism.html) on Mova free.