'anomie-ridden' originates from modern English, specifically the compound of 'anomie' and 'ridden', where 'anomie' meant 'lawlessness' or 'normlessness' (from sociological French usage) and 'ridden' meant 'suffused with' or 'affected by' (past participle of 'ride').

'anomie' came into English from French 'anomie', itself from Greek 'anomia' (ἀνομία) meaning 'lawlessness' (from a- 'not' + nomos 'law'); 'ridden' derives from Old English 'ridan' (to ride) → Middle English 'riden' → past participle 'ridden', and the compound form 'anomie-ridden' was formed in modern English by analogy with compounds like 'disease-ridden'.

Initially, 'anomie' referred broadly to 'lawlessness' or lack of law; over time, especially in sociology, it came to mean 'a breakdown of social norms and moral regulation', and 'anomie-ridden' now denotes something deeply affected by that social condition.