ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Anankastic

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ænənˈkæstɪk/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Anankastic is an adjective meaning (grammar) Imperative, as in the anankastic conditional.

Meaning

(grammar) Imperative, as in the anankastic conditional.

More Meanings

  1. (psychology) Characterised by compulsion; obsessive-compulsive.
  2. (grammar) An anankastic phrase or utterance.
  3. (psychology, rare) An obsessive-compulsive individual.

Example Sentences

Like many anankastics, he suffers from a disturbance in the capacity to act, which is revealed especially as an impediment to beginning something new and completing something.
1991: ‘You’re a classic anal-retentive,’ he says, ‘tirelessly absorbed by minutiae, anankastic in the extreme – it’s lucky you have me to deal with the broad sweep of things, to do the abstract thinking.’ — Will Self, ‘Mono-Cellular’, The Quantity Theory of Insanity

Word Forms

Synonyms for anankastic

Depending on context, synonyms include anancastic.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include nonimperative, unimperative, anarthrous, anancastic, absolute, antipassive.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.