Dystopia
noun
An imagined place or state where everything is unpleasant or bad, often in society, government, or the environment.
In her novel, the city had become a dystopia where technology had taken over human life.
Often appears as...
- dystopian society
- dystopian future
Usage tips
General, Literary
noun
A story or movie set in a dystopian world.
The film 'The Matrix' is a dystopia where machines control humanity.
Often appears as...
- dystopian literature
- dystopian film
Usage tips
Literary, General
noun
An imagined place or state where everything is unpleasant or bad, often in society, government, or the environment.
In her novel, the city had become a dystopia where technology had taken over human life.
Often appears as...
- dystopian society
- dystopian future
Usage tips
General, Literary
noun
A story or movie set in a dystopian world.
The film 'The Matrix' is a dystopia where machines control humanity.
Often appears as...
- dystopian literature
- dystopian film
Usage tips
Literary, General
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Dystopia carries a negative meaning, describing a place where things are very bad.
Books about dystopias show societies we hope to never experience.
Pro Tip 2/3Imaginary Worlds
Dystopias are fictional, designed to reflect and critique real societal issues.
A dystopia often reveals the dark side of human inventions.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Futuristic
While often set in the future, dystopias can depict any time period.
The dystopia in this story mirrors the Middle Ages' oppressive systems.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Dystopia carries a negative meaning, describing a place where things are very bad.
Books about dystopias show societies we hope to never experience.
Pro Tip 2/3Imaginary Worlds
Dystopias are fictional, designed to reflect and critique real societal issues.
A dystopia often reveals the dark side of human inventions.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Futuristic
While often set in the future, dystopias can depict any time period.
The dystopia in this story mirrors the Middle Ages' oppressive systems.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Connotation
Dystopia carries a negative meaning, describing a place where things are very bad.
Books about dystopias show societies we hope to never experience.
Pro Tip 2/3Imaginary Worlds
Dystopias are fictional, designed to reflect and critique real societal issues.
A dystopia often reveals the dark side of human inventions.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Always Futuristic
While often set in the future, dystopias can depict any time period.
The dystopia in this story mirrors the Middle Ages' oppressive systems.
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Video examples
Ken Jennings: Watson,...
where information is more universally available than it's ever been in human history, where we all have the answers to our questions at our fingertips. And on the other hand, we have the potential to be living in some gloomy dystopia where the machines have taken over and we've all decided it's not important what we know anymore,
Video examples
How to recognize a...
So why bother with all this pessimism? Because at their heart, dystopias are cautionary tales, not about some particular government or technology, but the very idea that humanity can be molded into an ideal shape. Think back to the perfect world you imagined. Did you also imagine what it would take to achieve?
Video examples
What your smart devices...
which means that they have a virtual assistant at home. Like, that's wild. The future, or the future dystopia, is getting here fast. Beyond that, companies are offering us all kinds of internet-connected devices. There are smart lights, smart locks, smart toilets, smart toys, smart sex toys.
Video examples
Meet Gita, the robot...
rectilinear dystopia jito learns the optimal pathways through the world by following an expert guide namely you or me in this particular case as it travels it creates detailed three-dimensional maps of everything encountered it encounters so that when it's sent off on
Video examples
Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps,...
so sinister and so compelling. We place such a premium on our free will and our independence that the prospect of losing those qualities to forces unseen informs many of our deepest societal fears. Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals
Video examples
Why should you read "The...
Utopian and dystopian writing tends to parallel political trends. Utopian writing frequently depicts an idealized society that the author puts forth as a blueprint to strive toward. Dystopias, on the other hand,
Video examples
Chrystia Freeland: The...
What worries me more is a different nightmare scenario. After all, in a totally free labor market, we could find jobs for pretty much everyone. The dystopia that worries me is a universe in which a few geniuses
Video examples
We're building a...
it's hitting the bestseller lists again. It's a great book, but it's not the correct dystopia for the 21st century. What we need to fear most is not what artificial intelligence will do to us on its own,
Video examples
The Shift We Need to...
I know we can push back that looming dystopia. I know we can protect everything that technology might make possible tomorrow, but only if we ban surveillance abuses today. Thank you.
Video examples
Capitalism will eat...
But above all else, it is a world in which we will be able to imagine an authentic democracy. Will such a world dawn? Or shall we descend into a Matrix-like dystopia?
Video examples
Ken Jennings: Watson,...
where information is more universally available than it's ever been in human history, where we all have the answers to our questions at our fingertips. And on the other hand, we have the potential to be living in some gloomy dystopia where the machines have taken over and we've all decided it's not important what we know anymore,
Video examples
How to recognize a...
So why bother with all this pessimism? Because at their heart, dystopias are cautionary tales, not about some particular government or technology, but the very idea that humanity can be molded into an ideal shape. Think back to the perfect world you imagined. Did you also imagine what it would take to achieve?
Video examples
What your smart devices...
which means that they have a virtual assistant at home. Like, that's wild. The future, or the future dystopia, is getting here fast. Beyond that, companies are offering us all kinds of internet-connected devices. There are smart lights, smart locks, smart toilets, smart toys, smart sex toys.
Video examples
Meet Gita, the robot...
rectilinear dystopia jito learns the optimal pathways through the world by following an expert guide namely you or me in this particular case as it travels it creates detailed three-dimensional maps of everything encountered it encounters so that when it's sent off on
Video examples
Ed Yong: Suicidal wasps,...
so sinister and so compelling. We place such a premium on our free will and our independence that the prospect of losing those qualities to forces unseen informs many of our deepest societal fears. Orwellian dystopias and shadowy cabals
Video examples
Why should you read "The...
Utopian and dystopian writing tends to parallel political trends. Utopian writing frequently depicts an idealized society that the author puts forth as a blueprint to strive toward. Dystopias, on the other hand,
Video examples
Chrystia Freeland: The...
What worries me more is a different nightmare scenario. After all, in a totally free labor market, we could find jobs for pretty much everyone. The dystopia that worries me is a universe in which a few geniuses
Video examples
We're building a...
it's hitting the bestseller lists again. It's a great book, but it's not the correct dystopia for the 21st century. What we need to fear most is not what artificial intelligence will do to us on its own,
Video examples
The Shift We Need to...
I know we can push back that looming dystopia. I know we can protect everything that technology might make possible tomorrow, but only if we ban surveillance abuses today. Thank you.
Video examples
Capitalism will eat...
But above all else, it is a world in which we will be able to imagine an authentic democracy. Will such a world dawn? Or shall we descend into a Matrix-like dystopia?
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Heidi Hammel
American Scientist
Amid apocalyptic dystopia, 'Fahrenheit 451''s protagonist retains sparks of curiosity, creativity, and courage, and these human characteristics are the seeds of hope that can arise, phoenix-like, from civilization's ashes.
Quote examples
Paul Di Filippo
American Writer
Only a minority of science fiction dystopias attempt to plumb the real existential roots of oppression, the flaws in humanity's nature that undermine our best attempts at organizing ourselves into social units.
Quote examples
Ken Liu
American Writer
In every revolution, there are winners and losers. Every dystopia is a utopia for somebody else. It just depends where you are. Are you in the class that benefits, or are you in the class that's not?
Quote examples
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
South Korean Director
I think the idea of a distant, far off dystopia, where the world is completely different from what we have now, is good, but it's been done. Especially in YA movies.
Quote examples
Naomi Alderman
English Novelist
Utopias and dystopias can exist side by side, even in the same moment. Which one you're in depends entirely on your point of view.
Quote examples
Ally Condie
American Novelist
The beauty of dystopia is that it lets us vicariously experience future worlds - but we still have the power to change our own.
Quote examples
Vikramaditya Motwane
Indian Director
Dystopia is a very interesting setting. Whether it's '1984' or 'Fahrenheit 451'... Dystopia is a wonderfully cinematic setting.
Quote examples
Steven Wilson
English Musician
We are living in dystopia, in a world that is dominated by technology and disconnect, alienation, loneliness, and dysfunction.
Quote examples
Jeff Vandermeer
American Writer
In a sense, fictional dystopias have been a way of distracting us from the truth of our condition by placing it 'over there.
Quote examples
Alex Cox
British Director
The future is always a dystopia in movies.
Quote examples
Heidi Hammel
American Scientist
Amid apocalyptic dystopia, 'Fahrenheit 451''s protagonist retains sparks of curiosity, creativity, and courage, and these human characteristics are the seeds of hope that can arise, phoenix-like, from civilization's ashes.
Quote examples
Paul Di Filippo
American Writer
Only a minority of science fiction dystopias attempt to plumb the real existential roots of oppression, the flaws in humanity's nature that undermine our best attempts at organizing ourselves into social units.
Quote examples
Ken Liu
American Writer
In every revolution, there are winners and losers. Every dystopia is a utopia for somebody else. It just depends where you are. Are you in the class that benefits, or are you in the class that's not?
Quote examples
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
South Korean Director
I think the idea of a distant, far off dystopia, where the world is completely different from what we have now, is good, but it's been done. Especially in YA movies.
Quote examples
Naomi Alderman
English Novelist
Utopias and dystopias can exist side by side, even in the same moment. Which one you're in depends entirely on your point of view.
Quote examples
Ally Condie
American Novelist
The beauty of dystopia is that it lets us vicariously experience future worlds - but we still have the power to change our own.
Quote examples
Vikramaditya Motwane
Indian Director
Dystopia is a very interesting setting. Whether it's '1984' or 'Fahrenheit 451'... Dystopia is a wonderfully cinematic setting.
Quote examples
Steven Wilson
English Musician
We are living in dystopia, in a world that is dominated by technology and disconnect, alienation, loneliness, and dysfunction.
Quote examples
Jeff Vandermeer
American Writer
In a sense, fictional dystopias have been a way of distracting us from the truth of our condition by placing it 'over there.
Quote examples
Alex Cox
British Director
The future is always a dystopia in movies.
Example 1 of 10
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