时代错误（Anachronism），是指把不可能出现于同一时代的事物安排在一起。这些在时间性上不一致的可能是对象，也可能是人物、事件、语句、科技、思想、音乐风格、物料、风俗习惯，乃至各种只跟某一段时代有关连的事物，而把它们放置于同一时空底下在现实上是不正确的。

常见的句子「张飞打岳飞」即是一例，只是为了造句顺畅把两个名飞的人拼在一起。各时代也常以当代的时空背景去绘制前代甚至史籍之前的人物社会，服装、建筑、社会习俗等都与考古有相当出入，在文学或艺术的领域中是常有的情况。

An anachronism (from the Greek ἀνά ana, "against" and χρόνος khronos, "time") is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of person(s), events, objects, or customs from different periods of time. The most common type of anachronism is an object misplaced in time, but it may be a verbal expression, a technology, a philosophical idea, a musical style, a material/textile, a plant or animal, a custom or anything else associated with a particular period in time so that it is incorrect to place it outside its proper temporal domain.