anoma|ly /ənɒ məli/ (anomalies ) N‑COUNT If something is an anomaly , it is different from what is usual or expected. [FORMAL ] □ The British public's wariness of opera is an anomaly in Europe.
anon /ənɒ n/ ADV [ADV after v] Anon means quite soon. [LITERARY ] □ You shall see him anon.
anon. Anon. is often written after poems or other writing to indicate that the author is not known. Anon. is an abbreviation for 'anonymous'.
anony|mous /ənɒ n I məs/
1 ADJ If you remain anonymous when you do something, you do not let people know that you were the person who did it. □ You can remain anonymous if you wish. □ An anonymous benefactor stepped in to provide the prize money. □ …anonymous phone calls. ● ano|nym|ity /æ nɒn I m I ti/ N‑UNCOUNT □ Both mother and daughter, who have requested anonymity, are doing fine. ● anony|mous|ly ADV □ The latest photographs were sent anonymously to the magazine's headquarters.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is anonymous does not reveal who you are. □ Of course, that would have to be by anonymous vote. ● ano|nym|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ He claims many more people would support him in the anonymity of a voting booth.
3 ADJ If you describe a place as anonymous , you dislike it because it has no unusual or interesting features and seems unwelcoming. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ It's nice to stay in a home rather than in an anonymous holiday villa. ● ano|nym|ity N‑UNCOUNT □ …the anonymity of the rented room.
ano|rak /æ nəræk/ (anoraks ) N‑COUNT An anorak is a warm waterproof jacket, usually with a hood.
ano|rexia /ænəre ksiə/ N‑UNCOUNT Anorexia or anorexia nervosa is an illness in which a person has an overwhelming fear of becoming fat, and so refuses to eat enough and becomes thinner and thinner.
ano|rex|ic /ænəre ks I k/ (anorexics ) ADJ If someone is anorexic , they are suffering from anorexia and so are very thin. ● N‑COUNT An anorexic is someone who is anorexic.
an|oth|er ◆◆◆ /ənʌ ðə r /
1 DET Another thing or person means an additional thing or person of the same type as one that already exists. □ Mrs. Madrigal buttered another piece of toast. □ We're going to have another baby. ● PRON Another is also a pronoun. □ The demand generated by one factory required the construction of another.
2 DET You use another when you want to emphasize that an additional thing or person is different to one that already exists. □ I think he's just going to deal with this problem another day. □ The counsellor referred her to another therapist. ● PRON Another is also a pronoun. □ He didn't really believe that any human being could read another's mind.
3 DET You use another at the beginning of a statement to link it to a previous statement. □ Another change that Sue made was to install central heating.
4 DET You use another before a word referring to a distance, length of time, or other amount, to indicate an additional amount. □ Continue down the same road for another 2 kilometres. □ He believes prices will not rise by more than another 4 per cent.
5 PRON You use one another to indicate that each member of a group does something to or for the other members. □ …women learning to help themselves and one another.
6 PHRASE If you talk about one thing after another , you are referring to a series of repeated or continuous events. □ They kept going, destroying one store after another.
7 PHRASE You use or another in expressions such as one kind or another when you do not want to be precise about which of several alternatives or possibilities you are referring to. □ …family members and visiting artists of one kind or another crowding the huge kitchen. USAGE another
Don’t use ‘another’ in front of a plural noun or an uncountable noun. Don’t say, for example, ‘
an|swer ◆◆◆ /ɑː nsə r , æ n-/ (answers , answering , answered )
1 VERB When you answer someone who has asked you something, you say something back to them. □ [V n] Just answer the question. □ [V ] He paused before answering. □ [V with quote] 'When?' asked Alba, 'Tonight', answered Tom. □ [V that] Williams answered that he had no specific proposals yet.
2 N‑COUNT [oft in N to n] An answer is something that you say when you answer someone. □ Without waiting for an answer, he turned and went in through the door. □ I don't quite know what to say in answer to your question.
3 PHRASE If you say that someone will not take no for an answer , you mean that they go on trying to make you agree to something even after you have refused. □ He would never take no for an answer.
4 VERB If you answer a letter or advertisement, you write to the person who wrote it. □ [V n] She answered an advert for a job as a cook. [Also V ]
5 N‑COUNT [oft in N to n] An answer is a letter that you write to someone who has written to you. □ I wrote to him but I never had an answer back. □ She wrote to his secretary in answer to his letter of the day before.
6 VERB When you answer the telephone, you pick it up when it rings. When you answer the door, you open it when you hear a knock or the bell. □ [V n] She answered her phone on the first ring. □ [V n] A middle-aged woman answered the door. [Also V ] ● N‑COUNT [usu sing] Answer is also a noun. □ I knocked at the front door and there was no answer.