anarchy
AN-er-keenounMeaning a lack of government or control; disorder
Memory hook AN-ARCHY: NO one in charge. The teacher steps out for five minutes, and with no one in charge the room turns to chaos: paper planes, spilled paint, kids on desks. That is anarchy.
When the referee left, the game dissolved into anarchy.
In context With no captain and no rules, the ship’s crew fell into anarchy: everyone gave orders, no one followed them, and the sails flapped loose for days.
Similar lawlessness, chaos, disorder, mayhem
Opposite order, law, government
From Greek anarkhia, “lack of a leader”: an (without) + arkhos (ruler).