dystopian
adjective
dys·to·pi·an
(ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ən 
variants
or less commonly dystopic
: 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
Maitland McDonaghDystopian visions are in a sense mythopoeic: depicting a creation myth in a future world of darkness and silence.—Sarah Lefanu
Sarah LefanuBiotechnology 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
Wesley J. SmithLike many advances in science and technology, the dystopian implications of data mining have been described best by science-fiction writers.—John Markoff
John Markoff… Orwellian has become a word itself: an adjective denoting a dystopic world where language is cut adrift from meaning.—Harvey A. Daniels
Harvey A. DanielsLetter by letter, we read of a society that seems to move from one dystopic nightmare to another …—Simon Winchester
Simon WinchesterExamples of dystopian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Haley Lu Richardson stunned the Berlin Film Festival photocall for dystopian comedy Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die on Friday evening with her impromptu acrobatics.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Introducing ads in the middle of a therapy session creates a dystopian scenario that Anthropic is smart to exploit, Galloway said.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
In the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, Margaret Atwood, award-winning dystopian fiction author, fished out an article from a research folder.
—Will Croxton, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Amazon pulled a similar trick, hiring Chris Hemsworth to imagine a series of dystopian scenarios in which his AI assistant turns into a sci-fi killer.
—Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dystopian
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Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Introducing ads in the middle of a therapy session creates a dystopian scenario that Anthropic is smart to exploit, Galloway said.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
In the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto, Canada, Margaret Atwood, award-winning dystopian fiction author, fished out an article from a research folder.
—Will Croxton, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
Amazon pulled a similar trick, hiring Chris Hemsworth to imagine a series of dystopian scenarios in which his AI assistant turns into a sci-fi killer.
—Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dystopian
Cite this Entry
“Dystopian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopian. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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