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‘1984’ Terms & Vocabulary

George Orwell’s Controversial Dystopian Novel Complete Alphabetical Glossary – Updated 2026 Edition (buy the book here on Amazon.com)

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M

N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W

Why This Vocabulary Matters

George Orwell’s 1984 uses rich and precise language to paint a terrifying picture of a totalitarian world. This complete glossary is organized alphabetically for easy study and reference.

A

Allusion

An indirect reference to something else.

Altercation

A noisy argument or disagreement.

Annihilate

To destroy completely.

Aquiline

Curved or hooked like an eagle’s beak.

Austere

Severe or strict in appearance and manner.

B

Balminess

A mild and pleasant quality.

Bludgeon

A short heavy club used as a weapon.

C

Catapult

To hurl or launch suddenly.

Chastity

The state of not having sexual relations.

Collate

To collect and arrange documents in order.

Commodity

A product or raw material that can be bought and sold.

Cumbersome

Difficult to carry or use because of size or weight.

D

Dapple

Marked with spots or patches of color.

Debauchery

Excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures.

Degradation

The process of reducing someone to a lower state.

Demeanor

Outward behavior or appearance.

Denounce

To publicly declare something as wrong or evil.

Depict

To show or represent something.

Despicable

Worthy of being despised.

Digression

A temporary departure from the main subject.

Dilapidated

In a state of disrepair or ruin.

Discountenanced

Disapproved of or discouraged.

Disdain

The feeling that someone is unworthy of respect.

Dissipate

To scatter or disappear.

E

Eccentricity

Odd or unconventional behavior.

Effigies

Representations or models of a person.

Embezzlement

Theft of money by someone entrusted with it.

F

Fathom

To understand something deeply.

Fecundity

The ability to produce abundant growth or offspring.

Flog

To beat someone with a whip or stick as punishment.

Forlorn

Appearing sad, lonely, or hopeless.

Fretted

Worried or anxious.

G

Gamboling

Running or jumping playfully.

Gnawing

Persistently troubling or painful.

Guise

An external appearance that hides the true nature.

H

Haggling

Arguing over price or terms.

Hallucination

A perception of something that is not real.

Heretic

Someone who holds beliefs contrary to official doctrine.

Hierarchy

A system of ranking people according to status or authority.

Hoard

To accumulate and store away secretly.

I

Implicate

To show someone is involved in wrongdoing.

Improvisation

Creating something without preparation.

Inconceivable

Impossible to imagine or believe.

Incriminate

To make someone appear guilty of a crime.

Indignation

Anger caused by something unfair.

Infallible

Incapable of making mistakes.

Innumerable

Too many to be counted.

Inquisitor

A person who questions others harshly.

Inscrutable

Impossible to understand or interpret.

Interminable

Endless or seemingly endless.

Intermittent

Occurring at irregular intervals.

Interpose

To insert or place between things.

Intimidate

To frighten someone into doing something.

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Invariably

Always; without exception.

Irony

A contrast between expectation and reality.

Irreconcilable

Impossible to reconcile or make compatible.

Irrepressible

Impossible to control or restrain.

Irrevocable

Impossible to reverse or change.

J

Jostle

To push or bump against someone roughly.

K

Kaleidoscope

A constantly changing pattern.

L

Listless

Lacking energy or enthusiasm.

Luminous

Full of or shedding light.

M

Malignant

Very harmful or evil in nature.

Meditatively

In a thoughtful or reflective manner.

Multifarious

Many and various.

Mutability

The quality of being changeable.

N

Niggling

Petty or annoying in a persistent way.

O

Officiousness

Overly eager to offer unwanted help.

Oligarchical

Relating to government by a small elite group.

Orifice

An opening or hole.

P

Pathos

A quality that evokes pity or sadness.

Peddler

A person who sells goods door to door.

Perish

To die or be destroyed.

Plunder

To steal goods by force.

Polysyllabic

Having many syllables.

Posterity

All future generations.

Predicament

A difficult or unpleasant situation.

Preponderance

The quality of being greater in number or importance.

Proles

The working-class majority in 1984.

Proliferate

To increase rapidly in number.

Promiscuity

Having many sexual partners.

Q

Queue

A line of people waiting for something.

R

Raspingly

In a harsh, grating voice.

Ravage

To cause severe damage or destruction.

Recurrence

The act of happening again.

Refute

To prove something wrong.

Remonstrance

A protest or complaint.

Remorselessly

Without pity or compassion.

Renegade

A traitor or deserter.

Repression

The act of suppressing feelings or ideas.

Reprisal

An act of retaliation.

Reproach

Expression of disapproval.

Repudiate

To reject or disown.

Reverberate

To echo or resound repeatedly.

Reverence

Deep respect for someone or something.

Rowdy

Noisy and disorderly.

Ruminant

Given to contemplation.

S

Sabotage

Deliberate destruction or disruption.

Saboteur

A person who commits sabotage.

Salutation

A greeting.

Scrounge

To obtain something by begging.

Scrutinize

To examine closely and carefully.

Shrewish

Bad-tempered and nagging.

Sordid

Dirty, wretched, or morally degraded.

Spurious

Not genuine or true.

Stagnant

Showing no activity or development.

Stratum

A layer or level of society.

Strenuousness

Requiring great effort and energy.

Supple

Flexible and easy to bend.

Swine

Pigs; used as an insult.

T

Tacitly

Understood without being openly expressed.

Taut

Stretched tight; tense.

Tiddlywinks

A game involving small discs.

Timorously

In a timid or fearful manner.

Truncheon

A short, thick stick carried as a weapon.

U

Unendurable

Impossible to endure; unbearable.

Unorthodox

Not following traditional rules.

Unprocurable

Impossible to obtain.

V

Venerate

To regard with great respect.

Voluptuous

Relating to sensual pleasure.

W

Wainscoting

Wooden paneling on the lower part of walls.

Modern Relevance (2026)

Many of these words remain powerful tools for describing surveillance, propaganda, and the manipulation of truth in today’s world.