doublethink
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of doublethink
double + think 1; coined by George Orwell in his novel 1984 (1949)
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.
Greene and Bolling really provide a remarkable example of doublethink.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2025
For many, including perhaps Orwell himself, the totalitarian world of Big Brother and doublethink was not merely the exotic trajectory of Stalinist Russia but the fate of imperial policing everywhere, including Britain.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2020
Victimhood culture advocates engage in a lot of doublethink.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 25, 2019
From Orwell’s evocation of the totalitarian superstate of Oceania, new words entered the language: doublethink, thoughtcrime, newspeak and Big Brother.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 3, 2019
Ultimately it is by means of doublethink that the Party has been able—and may, for all we know, continue to be able for thousands of years—to arrest the course of history.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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.
