dystopia
/dɪsˈtoʊ.pi.ə/noun
dystopia is spelled D-Y-S-T-O-P-I-A: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dystopia means “A miserable, dysfunctional state or society that has a very poor standard of living or severe censorship, oppression, etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dystopia is dystopias or dystopiae.
How many letters and syllables are in dystopia?
| Letters | 8: D-Y-S-T-O-P-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,703rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dystopia?
Dystopia appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,703rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dystopia?
- UK /dɪsˈtəʊ.pi.ə/
- US /dɪsˈtoʊ.pi.ə/
- Australia /dɪsˈtəʉ.pi.ə/
Dystopia has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-dystopia.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-dystopia.wav, En-au-dystopia.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dystopia?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dystopia from its last stressed vowel (/oʊpiə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dystopia
- dystopias plural
- dystopiae plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dystopia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A miserable, dysfunctional state or society that has a very poor standard of living or severe censorship, oppression, etc.
- 2
Anatomical tissue that is not found in its usual place.
The patient suffers from adrenal dystopia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dystopia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense miserable society:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dystopie, contre-utopie |
| German | Dystopie, Mätopie, Anti-Utopie, Gegenutopie |
| Portuguese | distopia |
| Spanish | distopía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dystopia come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).