How to Use Orwellian in a Sentence

Orwellian

adjective
  • This Orwellian language mirrors the terms of the Equality Act.
    John Hagen, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
  • But many people consider the phrase to be an Orwellian oxymoron.
    Robert Hackett, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2020
  • The year may be 1984, but any hint of Orwellian gloom here is dissolved in a wave of merry capitalist brinkmanship.
    Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Despite the technology’s potential for good, of course, there is a clear Orwellian thread in the idea of a future where bad actors can wiretap your brain.
    Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 26 May 2023
  • Right-wing pundits and politicians falsely portrayed her group as part of an Orwellian bid to control the speech and thought of ordinary Americans.
    Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 10 May 2023
  • Warzel and Peterson are particularly good on the Orwellian language that chips away at good will.
    Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, 13 Jan. 2022
  • Seen in that light, slapping a charge of espionage on a journalist is one of the more Orwellian tools in the authoritarian playbook.
    Bill Kovarik, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2023
  • Fox News aired allegations by right-wing commentators and politicians that the board was part of an Orwellian effort to control what Americans say and think.
    Harold Maass, The Week, 11 May 2023
  • Labeling natural gas as green energy is a little bit Orwellian.
    Laura Johnston, cleveland, 9 Jan. 2023
  • The result is alarming to those who recognize a dangerously Orwellian attempt to whitewash recent history.
    Lisa Mascaro, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Mar. 2023
  • Amazon’s warehouses, already known for their dangerous conditions, low pay, and Orwellian surveillance, have now become vectors of disease; dozens of workers have fallen ill with the coronavirus.
    Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 June 2020
  • This Orwellian mistrust is what authoritarian governments love.
    Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023
  • Maybe understanding the economy’s mixed signals doesn’t require Fitzgeraldian intelligence or Orwellian indoctrination.
    Andy Kessler, WSJ, 11 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Orwellian.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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