dystopian
adjective
dys·to·pi·an
(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən 
variants
or less commonly dystopic
: 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
Maitland McDonaghDystopian visions are in a sense mythopoeic: depicting a creation myth in a future world of darkness and silence.—Sarah Lefanu
Sarah LefanuBiotechnology 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
Wesley J. SmithLike many advances in science and technology, the dystopian implications of data mining have been described best by science-fiction writers.—John Markoff
John Markoff… Orwellian has become a word itself: an adjective denoting a dystopic world where language is cut adrift from meaning.—Harvey A. Daniels
Harvey A. DanielsLetter by letter, we read of a society that seems to move from one dystopic nightmare to another …—Simon Winchester
Simon WinchesterExamples of dystopian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Silver Bear Grand Jury prize, Berlin’s runner-up honor, went to Gabriel Mascaro’s dystopian fantasy The Blue Trail from Brazil.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2025
An apocalyptic adventure story teeming with rock and rollers, samizdat books, worker rebellions, and underground societies, the novel envisions this land and its future not as utopian or dystopian, necessarily, but rather as a site of branching possibilities.
—David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Given the dystopian antifactual farce that is Washington today, there’s something odd about watching any kind of fiction set there.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The ensemble film is set in a dystopian America that has a Long Walk competition in which 50 teenage boys walk without rest.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dystopian
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Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Feb. 2025
An apocalyptic adventure story teeming with rock and rollers, samizdat books, worker rebellions, and underground societies, the novel envisions this land and its future not as utopian or dystopian, necessarily, but rather as a site of branching possibilities.
—David L. Ulin, The Atlantic, 21 Feb. 2025
Given the dystopian antifactual farce that is Washington today, there’s something odd about watching any kind of fiction set there.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
The ensemble film is set in a dystopian America that has a Long Walk competition in which 50 teenage boys walk without rest.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dystopian
Cite this Entry
“Dystopian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopian. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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