dystopian

adjective

dys·​to·​pi·​an (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən How to pronounce dystopian (audio)
variants or less commonly dystopic
(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pik How to pronounce dystopian (audio) -ˈtä- How to pronounce dystopian (audio)
Synonyms of dystopiannext
: of, relating to, or being an imagined world or society in which people lead dehumanized, fearful lives : relating to or characteristic of a dystopia
A twisted romantic haunted by dystopian visions, Gibson borrows the language of science fiction and crafts doomed love stories with high-tech trappings.—Maitland McDonagh
Dystopian visions are in a sense mythopoeic: depicting a creation myth in a future world of darkness and silence.—Sarah Lefanu
Biotechnology is a force for good, but without adherence to the ideal of universal human equality, it opens the door to the soft tyranny of Gattaca and, ultimately the dystopian nightmare of Brave New World.—Wesley J. Smith
Like many advances in science and technology, the dystopian implications of data mining have been described best by science-fiction writers.—John Markoff
… Orwellian has become a word itself: an adjective denoting a dystopic world where language is cut adrift from meaning.—Harvey A. Daniels
Letter by letter, we read of a society that seems to move from one dystopic nightmare to another …—Simon Winchester

Examples of dystopian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (2008) The Hunger Games series In The Hunger Games, Collins transports us to the dystopian realm of Panem, a North American nation characterized by the greedy Capitol and 13 districts grappling with poverty. —Boutayna Chokrane, Vogue, 31 Dec. 2023 Books Review: The most sinister power in this riotously fun dystopian novel? —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023 In December, Angel also released The Shift, a dystopian thriller about alternate realities that the studio is advertising as a contemporary retelling of the Biblical story of Job. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 14 Dec. 2023 Warnings have ranged from Terminator-like dystopian fears to Goldman Sachs’ estimation that 300 million jobs will be disrupted by the technology. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023 In the immediate days after the tornado, Rolling Fork was a dystopian scene. —Anumita Kaur, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023 This unsettling dystopian novel, which won the 2023 Booker Prize, imagines an Ireland that has fallen into totalitarianism. —The New Yorker, 18 Dec. 2023 After five weeks on the big screen, the dystopian action-adventure has grossed $145 million in North America and $155.3 million internationally. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 17 Dec. 2023 Its chief weapon in Tibet is not dystopian camps but something seemingly more quotidian: Get unlimited access to all Foreign Affairs. —Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dystopian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

dystopian from dystopia + -an entry 2; dystopic from dystopia + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dystopian was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near dystopian

dystopia

dystopian

dystrophic

Cite this Entry

“Dystopian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopian. Accessed 9 Jan. 2024.

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