anonymous

anonymous — adjective

1. describing a person, message, or gift where the writer or giver chooses to keep

1.形容詞B2
釋義

describing a person, message, or gift where the writer or giver chooses to keep their real name hidden from the public — for example, a letter signed with no name, or a donor who refuses to be identified.

例句

An anonymous donor gave the school library 5,000 new books last week.

anonymous + donor (typical noun)

Mrs. Patel received an anonymous letter warning her not to sell the farm.

anonymous + letter (typical collocation)

同義詞
  • unnamed

    neutral; often used in news writing for people not yet identified

  • unidentified

    stresses that the name is not yet known, not always a deliberate choice

  • incognito

    more about disguising one's identity in person, often temporarily

反義詞
  • named

    identified by a specific name

  • identified

    name and identity are publicly known

文法句型

anonymous + noun (donor, letter, source, tip)

用法筆記

Subject or modified noun is usually a person who chose to hide their name (donor, writer, caller, buyer) or the message they produced (letter, note, tip). Distinguish from sense 2, which is about places or voices that lack personality, not about hidden identity.

常見錯誤

❌I want to stay anonym when I give money.
✅I want to stay anonymous when I give money.
💡'anonymous' is the adjective; there is no shorter form 'anonym' in English.

2. used about a place, building, voice, or design that looks or sounds so plain and

2.形容詞C1
釋義

used about a place, building, voice, or design that looks or sounds so plain and ordinary that nothing about it stands out or feels personal — like rows of identical office blocks, or a flat tone on the phone you cannot connect to anyone.

例句

The new business district is a long row of anonymous glass towers.

anonymous + glass towers (architecture)

Linnea works in an anonymous office building near the train station.

anonymous + office building

同義詞
  • nondescript

    very close in meaning; common for buildings and clothing

  • faceless

    stronger; suggests cold and impersonal, often of organisations

  • characterless

    blunt; says outright that something has no personality

反義詞
  • distinctive

    has clear features that set it apart

  • memorable

    easy to remember because of strong character

文法句型

anonymous + noun (building, voice, hotel room, suburb)

用法筆記

Frequently modifies physical spaces (building, hotel, suburb, room) or sounds (voice, tone). The criticism is about lack of personality, not hidden identity — use sense 1 when a real name is being kept secret.

常見錯誤

❌The food at that restaurant tastes anonymous.
✅The food at that restaurant tastes bland and forgettable.
💡'anonymous' is rarely used for taste; choose 'bland', 'plain', or 'forgettable' instead.