dys·to·pia | \ [ˌ]dis-ˈtō-pē-ə \
: an imaginary place where people are unhappy and usually afraid because they are not treated fairly
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
See MoreFirst Known Use of dystopia
circa 1950, in the meaning defined at sense 1
History and Etymology for dystopia
dys- + -topia [in utopia]
Cite this Entry
Dystopia. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, //www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopia. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.
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dys·to·pia | \ dis-ˈtō-pē-ə \
: malposition of an anatomical part
Other Words from dystopia
dystopic \ -ˈtō-pik , -ˈtäp-ik \ adjective