Orwellian
adjective
Or·well·ian
ȯr-ˈwe-lē-ən 
: of, relating to, or suggestive of George Orwell or his writings
especially
: relating to or suggestive of the dystopian reality depicted in the novel 1984
Privacy advocates … warn that advances in technology and data collection simply make an Orwellian slippery slope even more slippery. —
Barbara Presley Noble
Barbara Presley Noble Some critics view knowledge engineering as a threat, as the vanguard of an Orwellian future in which thinking machines take control. —Robert Reinhold
Robert Reinhold The X-Files and its spooky televised brethren dwell in that political twilight zone where left and right meet and greet—an Orwellian, Kafka-esque alien nation that's populated with suspicious folks who have too much time on their hands and a deep sense that something is horribly, horribly wrong. —David Wild
David Wild Now despised and feared, the Army has become a virtual occupation force in its own country, compounding what was already an Orwellian nightmare of spies, doublespeak propaganda, curfews, and petty state control of daily life. —Clayton Jones
Clayton Jones
Orwellianism
ȯr-ˈwe-lē-ə-ˌni-zəm
noun
-ˈwel-yə-ˌni-zəm
Orwellianism isn't just about big government; it's about authoritarianism coupled with lies.
—Gordon Bowker
Gordon Bowker
Examples of Orwellian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But even as their polished facades come undone in the workplace, and their office goes dystopian and Orwellian real quick, their impeccable style persists.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 18 Feb. 2025
This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the U.S. must reject this lunacy.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
The book was published in 1984, the Orwellian year that had once seemed so impossibly far off.
—Megan Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2025
Trump's years-long Orwellian disinformation campaign justifying the riot as legitimate political expression and lionizing the perpetrators as heroes suffering from unjust persecution succeeded in muddying what should have been crystal-clear waters.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
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Christian Allaire, Vogue, 18 Feb. 2025
This is Orwellian, and everyone in Europe and the U.S. must reject this lunacy.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
The book was published in 1984, the Orwellian year that had once seemed so impossibly far off.
—Megan Marshall, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2025
Trump's years-long Orwellian disinformation campaign justifying the riot as legitimate political expression and lionizing the perpetrators as heroes suffering from unjust persecution succeeded in muddying what should have been crystal-clear waters.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Orwellian
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Cite this Entry
“Orwellian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Orwellian. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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