Orwellian
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of Orwellian
1945–50; after G. Orwell ( def. ) + -ian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Notice the Orwellian reference to “the June 4th incident.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
In Leavitt’s usage, “transparency” has become a form of Orwellian “doublespeak,” a word or phrase which through the process of “doublethink” had come to encompass its exact opposite meaning.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2025
Beers, who was surprised by the win, said the world “seems to become slightly more Orwellian with each passing day.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2025
Vance, complains that civil society is a form of “distributed Orwellian despotism.”
From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2025
It is now called the Bristol Commerce Center, the sort of Orwellian name given to a place where commerce has ceased to exist.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
