dystopian

adjective

dys·​to·​pi·​an (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən 

variants or less commonly dystopic

(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pik  -ˈtä- 

: of, relating to, or being an imagined world or society in which people lead dehumanized, fearful lives : relating to or characteristic of a dystopia

a dystopian novel

A twisted romantic haunted by dystopian visions, Gibson borrows the language of science fiction and crafts doomed love stories with high-tech trappings.

—Maitland McDonagh

Dystopian visions are in a sense mythopoeic: depicting a creation myth in a future world of darkness and silence.

—Sarah Lefanu

Biotechnology is a force for good, but without adherence to the ideal of universal human equality, it opens the door to the soft tyranny of Gattaca and, ultimately the dystopian nightmare of Brave New World.

—Wesley J. Smith

Like many advances in science and technology, the dystopian implications of data mining have been described best by science-fiction writers.

—John Markoff

… Orwellian has become a word itself: an adjective denoting a dystopic world where language is cut adrift from meaning.

—Harvey A. Daniels

Letter by letter, we read of a society that seems to move from one dystopic nightmare to another …

—Simon Winchester

Examples of dystopian in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Those of us missing the John Wick universe can take heart, because Chad Stahelski—who created that franchise—is coming back early next year with a new dystopian action film. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026

Please help this writer navigate what feels like a dystopian world. — Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026

Von Donnersmarck set The Lives of Others in the same year that Orwell’s prescient fiction takes place, so this production seems like a match made in dystopian heaven. — Demetrios Matheou, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2026

The 69-year-old actor, who played Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller, is reflecting on shooting the 2006 film ahead of its limited, two-night-only re-release in theaters. — Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

dystopian from dystopia + -an entry 2; dystopic from dystopia + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dystopian

• bupropion
• ectropion
• fallopian
• utopian
• ethiopian