Orwellian

adjective

Or·well·ian ȯr-ˈwe-lē-ən

: of, relating to, or suggestive of George Orwell or his writings

especially : relating to or suggestive of the dystopian reality depicted in the novel 1984

Privacy advocates … warn that advances in technology and data collection simply make an Orwellian slippery slope even more slippery. —

Barbara Presley Noble

Some critics view knowledge engineering as a threat, as the vanguard of an Orwellian future in which thinking machines take control. —

Robert Reinhold

The X-Files and its spooky televised brethren dwell in that political twilight zone where left and right meet and greet—an Orwellian, Kafka-esque alien nation that's populated with suspicious folks who have too much time on their hands and a deep sense that something is horribly, horribly wrong. —

David Wild

Now despised and feared, the Army has become a virtual occupation force in its own country, compounding what was already an Orwellian nightmare of spies, doublespeak propaganda, curfews, and petty state control of daily life. —

Clayton Jones

Orwellianism

ȯr-ˈwe-lē-ə-ˌni-zəm

-ˈwel-yə-ˌni-zəm

noun

Orwellianism isn't just about big government; it's about authoritarianism coupled with lies. —

Gordon Bowker

Examples of Orwellian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Of course, that beauty transformation is driven by something Orwellian, rather than the betterment of society. —

Tomris Laffly, Variety, 12 Sep. 2024 At times, the 2025 Project sounds downright Orwellian: The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. —

Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 29 July 2024 An expert who works with hundreds of election officials from around the nation described the moment as Orwellian, with those who spent years attacking democratic institutions now warning of the dangers of extreme rhetoric. —

Patrick Marley, Washington Post, 19 July 2024 More than a half-dozen screens will play Super Bowl halftime shows, along with more than 60 memorable commercials that debuted during the big game, such as Apple’s groundbreaking Orwellian 1984 ad directed by Ridley Scott that’s now considered an advertising masterpiece. —

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for Orwellian

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