The rare Greek noun anachysis (ἀνάχυσις) means an "outpouring," "flood," or "excess" — the pouring out of something in great quantity. From ana (up/out) + cheō (to pour), it describes an overwhelming outpouring or overflow. It appears only once in the New Testament (1 Peter 4:4), where it describes the "flood of dissipation" into which Peter's readers were once swept.
Peter's use of anachysis in 1 Peter 4:4 is vivid and sociologically precise. He addresses believers who have stopped participating in the pagan lifestyle of their culture, and notes that their former companions are "surprised when you do not join them in the same flood [anachysis] of debauchery, and they malign you." The anachysis of pagan excess — the overflowing torrent of sensuality, drunkenness, and licentiousness — is contrasted with the sober, God-directed life of the sanctified believer. The image of a flood is apt: sin's cultural pull is not a trickle but a torrent that sweeps the undiscerning away. The believer who steps out of that current will be noticed — and mocked — but Peter frames this as the expected cost of holy living.