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

At this year’s Venice Biennale, the performance artist and choreographer Florentina Holzinger used the stage of the Austria Pavilion to alert viewers to an increasingly underwater dystopia. —Lilyanna D'amato, ARTnews.com, 28 May 2026

Cyberpunk is the best known of all, assuming itself as an antithesis of utopian visions of science fiction worlds and simultaneously as a space of dystopias in which the cyberpunk fights against artificial intelligence that controls the world. —Paulo Nuno Vicenteall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026

Via a portrait of tropical dystopia, Villalobos asks how far love can go when threatened by loss and violence. —Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 14 May 2026

Similar to 2023-2024, realistic/contemporary and dystopia/sci-fi/fantasy remain the dominant genres banned in the 2024-2025 school year. —Brieanna J. Frank, USA Today, 7 May 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