Dystopia
/dɪsˈtoʊ.pi.ə/noun
An imagined society characterized by suffering, oppression, or extreme control.
Did you know?The word was coined in the 19th century as the opposite of *utopia*, using Greek *dys-* (“bad, hard, ill”) plus *topos* (“place”)—so the nightmare was built right into the name.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
dews-
“to be bad, lacking, or defective”
Ancient Greek
Greek
dys-
“bad, hard, unlucky, ill-formed”
Ancient Greek
Greek
t f3pos
“place, spot, location”
19th Century
English
dystopia
“an imagined bad or undesirable place”
Modern English
English
dystopia
“a society marked by misery, oppression, or dehumanization”
Explore more surprising origins