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Definition of dystopia
1 : an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives
2 literature : anti-utopia 2 writing a dystopia
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of dystopia from the Web
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Democrats have spent most of this week accusing Republicans of trying to create a dystopia where Americans are denied basic health-care treatments.
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There’s just maybe this chance to create a bubble-corner-safe space within dystopia.
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Not all dystopias have to be grim, or even political, but the genre may require its creators to take at least their own questions seriously in order to create a world that a viewer can fully experience—in pleasure, hope, or fear.
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Before utopias and dystopias became imagined futures, they were imagined pasts, or imagined places, like the Garden of Eden.
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Yet back into dystopia Ross goes, nearly every day, armed with little more than bottles of water, maybe some chips, and relentless compassion.
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The seventh grade observed societal norms, expectations and experiences to use for shaping thoughts and beliefs when designing their end-of-the-year project on utopia/dystopia.
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Eastern Aleppo may not have been Raqqa, where ISIS advertised its rigid Islamist dystopia and its mass beheadings.
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Seoul is a place that veers between utopia and dystopia with alarming speed.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dystopia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of dystopia
New Latin, from dys- + -topia (as in utopia)
DYSTOPIA Defined for English Language Learners
dystopia
play
noun
Definition of dystopia for English Language Learners
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: an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly
Medical Dictionary
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