"Orwellian" is a serious, semi-common word. It has a sharply negative tone, so pick it when you want to complain about people in power who lie to, manipulate, and control the public.

You might talk about Orwellian times, societies, vibes, moods, nightmares, practices, policies, bureaucracies, institutions, companies, etc.

If you've read Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, you might remember the various government bodies with deceptive names, like the "Ministry of Peace" that's always waging wars, and the "Ministry of Truth" that's always publishing propaganda. So, one specific way we use the word "Orwellian" is to complain about names, titles, labels, or terms that lie or twist the truth. For example, as Salon reported, the term "cyber security" is Orwellian when it's used to really mean "spying" or "data mining." And as the Associated Press reported, the "Transparent Airfares Act of 2014" is Orwellian because its purpose was to allow airlines to lie about their airfare prices.

"While her husband's administration waged a campaign of terror against the country's poorest citizens for two decades, [Imelda Marcos] hoarded capital obtained through possibly illegal means and put a smiling face on their crimes against humanity. She's now going all in on revisionism, as if the body count can be erased with a single Orwellian declaration that perception matters more than truth."
  — Charles Bramesco, The Guardian, 4 November 2019

"The decision to reduce The Review Show from weekly to monthly and move it to the televisual black hole that is BBC4 is very BBC... In splendidly Orwellian fashion we are told this is a bold step forward... The BBC has a unique ability to persuade itself that a humiliating defeat is a tactical victory."
  — Stephen Moss, The Guardian, 26 February 2013

has this page helped you understand "Orwellian"?

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If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Orwellian" without saying "totalitarian" or "authoritarian."

try it out:

In the New Yorker, Sarah Larson observed:

"When Google introduced Gmail, in 2004, we were all thrilled that we'd now be able to take advantage of its elegant intelligence in the realm of e-mail... But we were also freaked out, a bit, by the Orwellian announcement that Google would harvest our messages' words to generate targeted advertising."

That almost seems quaint, now, doesn't it?

With that in mind as an example, see if you can name another Orwellian aspect of our modern lives: some way in which companies or governments seem to spy on us, control us, or manipulate us.

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is Just Joshing: John Oliver Edition!

Flex your creativity and word-finding skills as you fill in the blanks to create your own joke, following the example of the comedian John Oliver. Since the LOLs are in the details, try making your joke as specific (or weird) as possible.

For example, if I give you "The only things you should be buying on eBay are _____ and _____," then you might give me "The only things you should be buying on eBay are pieces of gum chewed by Elvis and unassembled snowmen." (Oliver's actual joke was "The only things you should be buying on eBay are vintage RadioShack swag and a discarded e-meter from the Church of Scientology.")

Try this one today: "Our main story tonight concerns technology, which has brought us _____, _____, _____, and one day, God willing, _____."

To see my crack at it, as well as Oliver's original joke, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of ORWELLIAN could be

A. AEONIAN: lasting for an extremely long time.
B. UTOPIAN: related to a society that's peaceful and perfect.
C. SAMSONIAN: strong and powerful in a superhuman, Bible-hero kind of way.

2. From Michael Sokolove's Drama High: "It is now called the Bristol Commerce Center, the sort of Orwellian name given to a place where _____."

A. commerce has ceased to exist
B. everything has weathered and faded
C. most of the commerce is pawning and check cashing

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. A From the game: My crack at it: "Our main story tonight concerns technology, which has brought us smartphones, the Big Mouth Billy Bass, central air conditioning, and one day, God willing, a printer that does as it's told." Oliver's original joke: "Our main story tonight concerns technology, which has brought us stone tools, the catapult, the Tamagotchi, and one day, God willing, a fourth thing worth having."

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.