dystopian

adjective

dys·​to·​pi·​an (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən 

variants or less commonly dystopic

(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pik  -ˈtä- 

: 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

Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães explore dystopian futures in Cape of Pleasures, while Meat by Rioghnach Ni Ghrioghair and Strange Root by Lam Li Shuen and Mark Chua offer two new genre takes on cannibalism. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

John David’s recent role in The Creator, a dystopian sci-fi epic, marks another milestone in his trajectory as a leading man. —Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 5 Dec. 2024

New tools will be forged to create a resilient resistance movement against the prospect of a dystopian future. —Priscilla Hart, Baltimore Sun, 3 Dec. 2024

The two projects are Fortune Train, a Snowpiercer-style reality series set on a train, and Smart House, a dystopian version of Big Brother. —Peter White, Deadline, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above