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

Dystopian military vehicles straight out of Mad Max rumble past, encased in their own cages of steel and netting.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Dystopian drama “Severance” captured the imagination of overworked Americans when it depicted an employee revolt against an oppressive corporation.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2025

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” a million seller first released in 1985, is a Dystopian novel about a cruel patriarchy known as the Republic of Gilead.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 7, 2022

They’ve sold sweatshirts proclaiming “low ABV,” and rustic ales like the 2.5 percent Dystopian Fields, which is seasoned with rose hips, spruce tips and pineapple sage.

From New York Times • Feb. 11, 2022

Dystopian fiction is about how the world ends — not the extinction of the planet but the end of our familiar world.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2020