Word of the day: anomie

The word of the day is anomie:

< Greek ἀνομία, n. of quality < ἄνομ-ος lawless.

1. Disregard of law, lawlessness; esp. (in 17th c. theology) disregard of divine law. Obs. 

2. Also commonly in French form anomie.  [French (Durkheim Suicide, 1897).] Absence of accepted social standards or values; the state or condition of an individual or society lacking such standards. (OED)

"Besides being thought of as rich, the suburbs were seen through resonant mid-century depictions offered by writers of fiction like John Cheever and Richard Yates and by writers of nonfiction like William H. Whyte ("The Organization Man") and David Riesman ("The Lonely Crowd").  They were conformist, anti-intellectual, homogeneous, antifeminist, alcoholic, and shot through with anomie."

 - Nicholas Lemann, "Get out of town: Has the celebration of cities gone too far?", 27 June 2011 The New Yorker