anomie
Alienation or social instability caused by erosion of standards and values.
countable, uncountable
This is in line with sociologist Emile Durkheim's seminal study Suicide (1897 [1997]), which argued that "anomie", or normlessness, could explain variations in suicide rates across countries and time.
Where it comes from
From French anomie, from Ancient Greek ἀνομία (anomía, “lawlessness”), from ἄνομος (ánomos, “lawless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + νόμος (nómos, “law”). Popularized by French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry anomie (CC BY-SA 4.0).