dystopian
Americanadjective
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resembling or relating to a dystopia.
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causing or characterized by an extreme amount of misery.
noun
Explanation
"Utopian" describes a society that's conceived to be perfect. Dystopian is the exact opposite — it describes an imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible. George Orwell's "Animal Farm," for example, describes a dystopian society in which Napoleon, a pig, represents Joseph Stalin in a farmyard satire on Stalinist Russia and how power corrupts. Other famous dystopian authors include Aldous Huxley, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ray Bradbury. The adjective dystopian describes anything that pertains to or resembles a society such as those described in this sort of literature.
Vocabulary lists containing dystopian
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Charming as Verb
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Science Fiction Lingo
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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.
Celebrate Labor Day with a new tradition: Sorry to Bother You, Boots Riley’s 2018 film starring LaKeith Stanfield, is a rollicking sci-fi black comedy about a dystopian workplace.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
The latest shows aren’t imagining a dystopian future a la Netflix’s futuristic “Black Mirror” anthology series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
He says a dystopian future like the one portrayed in the film is "frightening to think about" but "it's something we have to examine and remember, because we are on the cusp of these realities".
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
But it’s her other major appearance, a few episodes later, that raised the high bar Dan Fogelman’s dystopian drama already set.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
“You know, sometimes it does feel like we’re in one of those trendy dystopian novels,” she admitted.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
