Added 9 October 2026
dystopia
/dɪsˈtəʊ.pi.ə/ noun
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about dystopia at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- State in which the conditions of life are extremely bad as from deprivation or oppression or terror.
- A work of fiction describing an imaginary place where life is extremely bad because of deprivation or oppression or terror.
Origin
From dys- + -topia, as if from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “bad”) + τόπος (tópos, “place, region”) + -ία (-ía), based on utopia being reinterpreted as eu-topia.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)