3 syllables: A, nar, chy. Stress on A.
AN-ur-kee
/ˈænɚˌki/
Anarchy is pronounced AN-ur-kee (/ˈænɚˌki/). It has three syllables (A-nar-chy), with the stress on "A". Anarchy is a state of society without recognized authority or governing rule, or in political theory, a rejection of hierarchical authority. It denotes disorder arising from the absence of formal structures, or a philosophy advocating self-governed, voluntary associations. In everyday use, it can describe chaotic conditions in a household, city, or country, or refer to anarchist thought as a political stance.
nounAnarchy is a state of society without recognized authority or governing rule, or in political theory, a rejection of hierarchical authority. It denotes disorder arising from the absence of formal structures, or a philosophy advocating self-governed, voluntary associations. In everyday use, it can describe chaotic conditions in a household, city, or country, or refer to anarchist thought as a political stance.
- You: Focus on how your lips and tongue move for the /ɑː/ in the second syllable; avoid flattening the vowel or making it too short. - Also, keep the /r/ sound clearly colored in US English, don’t skip it or turn it into a soft vowel; the /r/ can affect the quality of the final /ki/. - Finally, don’t rush the final /ki/; ensure a crisp /k/ closure and an unaspirated or lightly aspirated /i/ depending on your accent. Practice with slow tempo and mirror feedback to correct.
How to Pronounce Anarchy
"The collapse of the government led to social anarchy in the streets."
"She argued that true anarchy is impossible without mutual aid and voluntary cooperation."
"During the blackout, anarchy spread as people searched for power and order disappeared."
You pronounce it as a-NAR-ky or əˈnɑːrki in US English; the stress is on the second syllable. Start with a neutral schwa in the first syllable, then a strong, open back vowel for ‘nar’ and finish with a soft ‘kee’ ending. IPA: US /əˈnɑːrki/, UK/AU /əˈnɑːki/. Imagine saying ‘uh-NAR-kee’ with the mouth open widest for the ‘nar’ vowel.
Common errors: (1) Misplacing stress, saying a-NAR-chy with the emphasis on the first syllable; (2) Using a short ‘a’ in the second syllable like ‘an-ARK-y’ instead of the long /ɑː/ in 'nar'; (3) Ending with a clipped ‘ee’ instead of a clear /ki/; (4) Substituting /æ/ or /ɛ/ in the ‘nar’ vowel. Correction: keep /ˈnɑːr/ as the nucleus, ensure the final /ki/ has a clean voiceless alveolo-palatal alignment, and use a longer /ɑː/ in the second syllable.
US tends to have /əˈnɑːrki/, with rhotic vowel in ‘nar’ and clear /r/. UK and AU are similar but may reduce the /r/ in non-rhotic contexts or slightly shorten /ɑː/ depending on speaker. In careful UK speech, you might hear /əˈnɑːki/ with a slightly lighter r and shorter second syllable. Overall vowel quality remains broad/open in both accents, with rhoticity being the main variable.
Two main challenges: the schwa + stressed syllable pattern can blur; the /r/ in /nɑːr/ may be pronounced or omitted depending on accent. The sequence /ˈnɑːr/ + /ki/ requires careful lip and tongue positioning—open back vowel /ɑː/ followed by a compact /r/ coloring the nucleus. Practicing slow, deliberate transitions helps maintain stress and prevents vocal twang or vowel reduction in casual speech.
The word’s nucleus (nar) centers a long open back vowel /ɑː/ before the rhotic /r/ in US pronunciation, which creates a distinct diphthongal feel when followed by /k/ and /i/. The presence of the fragile /r/ linking to the final /ki/ makes the sequence sensitive to vowel length and postvocalic r-coloring in US, and a non-rhotic simplification in some UK variants.
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US: close your mouth slightly for the /ə/ initial, then open wide for /ˈnɑːr/; maintain a clear rhotic /r/. UK/AU: often less rhotic; the final /r/ is weaker or omitted, but keep the /ki/ strong. Vowels: /ɑː/ is a broad open back vowel; /i/ is a short vowel in faster speech or a longer vowel in careful speech. Reference IPA, listen for rhotic vs non-rhotic subtlety and adjust lip rounding accordingly.
Anarchy comes from the Greek anarkhía, from an-, meaning ‘without’, and arkhos, meaning ‘ruler’ or ‘leader’. The term appears in classical Greek to describe political situations lacking rulers, but it gained modern political traction in the 19th century with theorists like Proudhon and Bakunin, who explored the idea of a society organized without coercive authority. In English, it entered legal and political discourse in the 16th–17th centuries in phrases describing rebellion or disorder, but by the 19th century it took on the technical sense of a political philosophy opposing centralized state authority. The root an- conveys negation, while -archy derives from Greek arkhos ‘ruler’, via French/Latin paths into English. Throughout its evolution, “anarchy” has carried connotations of both idealistic freedom from domination and fear of social breakdown. First known uses surface in scholarly and political writings, with broader popular usage following the modern anarchist movements in Europe and America. Today, the term can describe both theoretical positions and practical conditions where formal power is not present or accepted, though real-world implementations are debated and contested. The word has retained its core sense of “without ruler,” while expanding to discuss ideas of voluntary, non-coercive social organization and the chaos sometimes associated with power vacuums.
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Words that rhyme with "Anarchy"
-rky sounds
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