dystopian

American  

[dis-toh-pee-uhn] / dɪsˈtoʊ pi ən /

adjective

1. resembling or relating to a dystopia.

2. causing or characterized by an extreme amount of misery.

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noun

1. a person who lives in, describes, or advocates for a dystopia.

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.

Example Sentences

She is best known for the Noughts & Crosses series, which explores the divide between a black elite and a white underclass in a dystopian London.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026

AI-generated videos depicted McKinney as a stoic, suit-clad crime fighter walking through a dystopian version of L.A.’s Metro system.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

Friend of Slate Chika Okafor, an assistant professor of law and an economist at Northwestern University, wrote about the problem with the Supreme Court’s dystopian argument in Louisiana v.

From Slate • May 28, 2026

In these dystopian times, when realism is more important than ever, it’s a grave mistake to let rose-colored glasses distort our vision, or to substitute unmerited patience for vital urgency.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 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