1984

English

Etymology

From the title of George Orwell’s 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Compare Orwellian.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌnʌɪntiːnˌeɪtiˈfɔː/

Noun

1984 (uncountable)

1. A totalitarian or dystopic society, especially when characterised by intense surveillance of its citizens. Also used attributively. [from 20th c.]
   • 1954 June 28, Time:

     Many a thoughtful man, musing over his second Martini and the evening paper, has had the uneasy feeling that 1984 was much closer.

   • 2007 January 15, The Guardian:

     Yet these proposals are already being presented by the Conservatives - and many on the left - as yet another step into 1984, part of a proto-tyrannical package ranging from CCTV cameras to Asbos to the DNA database that they cite as evidence Britain is sleepwalking into a surveillance society.

   • 2010, Peter Dale Scott, quoted in David Ray Griffin, Cognitive Infiltration:

     Those who seek to prevent 2010 from becoming 1984 will want to arm themselves with this valuable book.

Derived terms

• 1984-esque
• 1984-ish