dystopia

noun

dys·​to·​pia (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ə 

1

: an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives

An … electric novel that blurs the lines between dystopia and reality.

—Leigh Haber

Over the course of the movie, the late-60's ideal of togetherness turns into a dystopia of violence, revulsion and finally death.

—John Leland

2

: anti-utopia sense 2

writing a dystopia

… leaping across the century to the 1990's to attempt a dystopia about the disintegration of Australian democracy into startling, irreversible despotism.

—Pearl K. Bell

Examples of dystopia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Lioness has always been a mess of contradictory political signifiers and anachronistic pop-cultural touchpoints, amounting to a 20th-century-style espionage adventure wrapped in 21st-century military-industrial dystopia. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2026

In the 20th century, dystopia became a key feature of science fiction. — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026

Messages break down, signals decay, information rots; the stuff of everyday data dystopia and media apocalypse, but in Braxton’s hands, raw material to be shaped into something recombinant and strange. — Reed Jackson, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026

Avoiding Terminator-like dystopias requires maintaining control not just of AI, but of human behavior. — Emelia S. Probasco, Foreign Affairs, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

dys- + -topia (in utopia)

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dystopia

• amblyopia
• cornucopia
• hyperopia
• atropia
• cecropia
• diplopia
• myopia
• utopia
• hypermetropia

Kids Definition

dystopia

noun

dys·​to·​pia (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ə 

: an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly

also : a work of literature about such a place

dystopian

-ən

adjective

Medical Definition

dystopia

noun

dys·​to·​pia dis-ˈtō-pē-ə 

: malposition of an anatomical part

dystopic

-ˈtō-pik  -ˈtäp-ik 

adjective