Orwell

American  

[awr-wel, -wuhl] / ˈɔr wɛl, -wəl /

noun

1. George Eric Arthur Blair, 1903–50, English novelist and essayist.

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Orwell British  

/ ˈɔːwəl, ɔːˈwɛlɪən, -wɛl /

noun

1. George, real name Eric Arthur Blair. 1903–50, English novelist and essayist, born in India. He is notable for his social criticism, as in The Road to Wigan Pier (1932); his account of his experiences of the Spanish Civil War Homage to Catalonia (1938); and his satirical novels Animal Farm (1945), an allegory on the Russian Revolution, and 1984 (1949), in which he depicts an authoritarian state of the future

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Other Word Forms

• Orwellian adjective

Example Sentences

Once upon a time, there was a world that made logical sense, one where the word “dystopia” was reserved for disaster films and George Orwell novels.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

David Bowie’s “1984” was an easy win, based of course on the Orwell novel.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

He did eventually disappear, so when they approached the spot where they would usually separate near the Orwell Hotel on High Road East, they checked the area to ensure he had definitely gone.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

That’s an outcome that would be, in the words of Orwell himself, “doubleplusgood”.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

Acton”—this, apparently, Harold Acton, who was also in Paris then and a friend to both Orwell and Julian—“disagrees. But I think he is not a man to be trusted.”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt