dystopia

[ dis-toh-pee-uh ]

/ dɪsˈtoʊ pi ə /

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See synonyms for dystopia on Thesaurus.com

noun

a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

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Compare Utopia.

Origin of dystopia

First recorded in 1865–70; dys- + (U)topia

OTHER WORDS FROM dystopia

dys·to·pi·an, adjectivedys·to·pi·an·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dystopia in a sentence

The next leap constitutes the dystopias in which we achieve immortality by preserving our minds digitally, or machines use our brain wiring to make super-intelligent machines that wipe humanity out.
An Existential Crisis in Neuroscience - Issue 94: Evolving|Grigori Guitchounts|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
The Bees Laline Paull (Ecco) This arresting debut novel is a daring dystopian story set in a beehive.
The Best Fiction of 2014: Ford, Ferrante, Klay, and More|William O’Connor|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet there are glimpses of surpassingly eerie dystopian beauty.
American Dreams: Did William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’ Blueprint Our Reality?|Nathaniel Rich|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Certainly now when here are, in the aftermath of The Giver, a number of dystopian novels, which involve a great deal of violence.
A Trailblazer in YA Dystopian Fiction: An Interview With 'The Giver' Author Lois Lowry|Marianne Hayes|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I never as a reader have been particularly interested in dystopian literature or science fiction or, in fact, fantasy.
A Trailblazer in YA Dystopian Fiction: An Interview With 'The Giver' Author Lois Lowry|Marianne Hayes|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When it comes to dystopian, young adult fiction, Lois Lowry was the trailblazer.
A Trailblazer in YA Dystopian Fiction: An Interview With 'The Giver' Author Lois Lowry|Marianne Hayes|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for dystopia

dystopia

/ (dɪsˈtəʊpɪə) /

noun

an imaginary place where everything is as bad as it can be

Derived forms of dystopia

dystopian, adjective, noun

Word Origin for dystopia

C19 (coined by John Stuart Mill): from dys- + Utopia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dystopia

Origin of dystopia

OTHER WORDS FROM dystopia

Words related to dystopia

How to use dystopia in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dystopia

Derived forms of dystopia

Word Origin for dystopia