Orwellian

[awr-wel-ee-uhn]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling the literary work of George Orwell or the totalitarian future described in his antiutopian novel 1984 (1949).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Orwellian¹

1945–50; after G. Orwell ( def. ) + -ian

Example Sentences

The city, from Mayor Karen Bass to street vendors, knows that it’s up against an Orwellian apparatus that wants us to collapse — and that L.A. will win.

From Los Angeles Times

To say that today’s politics is Orwellian is being unkind to Orwell.

From Salon

Then there’s the fascist weaponization of information and fear, the film’s Orwellian backdrop.

From Los Angeles Times

The true Rubicon that Americans crossed was on the question of torture, or “enhanced interrogation,” in the Bush administration’s Orwellian terminology.

From Salon

“It all seems pretty Orwellian,” said Kimbrough Moore, a rock climber and Yosemite National Park guide book author.

From Los Angeles Times