dystopia
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dystopia
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How does dystopia compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A dystopia is a fictional world where people live under a highly controlled, totalitarian system. In his novel "Brave New World," Aldous Huxley created a dystopia where individual identity is suppressed and families no longer exist. Yep, it’s pretty scary. The word dystopia comes from adding the Latin prefix dys, which means “bad,” to the word utopia. So a dystopia is a utopia gone wrong. While the intention might have been to create a perfect society, all the regulations make life there really bad. Often a dystopia in a book is a society of the future, serving as a warning about what might happen if we let technology, industry, and government creep further and further into our lives.
Vocabulary lists containing dystopia
Literary Genres - Introductory
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Achievement First 7th Grade IA 1 Words
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Reading: Literature - Fiction - High School
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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.
Dystopia has rarely looked as grim and felt as exhilarating as it has in George Miller’s “Mad Max” cycle.
From New York Times • May 15, 2024
Dystopia stories can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2024
This might sound like the kind of place nobody would ever want to be in, but every year millions of people pay to visit haunts just like Dystopia.
From Scientific American • Oct. 20, 2023
Dystopia seems to be our creative narrative for the future.
From Salon • Feb. 16, 2023
“What’s it like? This thing you have. Dystopia or whatever.”
From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
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.
