dystopia

noun

dys·​to·​pia (ˌ)dis-ˈtō-pē-ə 

1

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

There's almost a flavor of science fiction to the scenes Chilson describes, as though he were giving us a glimpse into a 21st-century dystopia of mad egoism and hurtling hulks of metal.

—Adam Goodheart

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

Westerfeld’s dystopia pulls off one of the most unforgettable reveals in YA history by playing with our notions of beauty. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Sep. 2024

Downtown Atlanta and the Beltline could avoid becoming a data center dystopia under new protections approved this week by the Atlanta City Council. —Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 5 Sep. 2024

Watching In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, my brain kept jumping to Severance, a TV dystopia that’s got its t’s crossed and its i’s painstakingly dotted. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2024

The threat of grocery store food shortages during the pandemic then occupied Thorne as the script for 40 Acres and its famine-riven dystopia took shape with the help of co-writer Glenn Taylor. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

dys- + -topia (in utopia)

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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