Vol. 42, No. 10
10/01/2026
Words As Weapons
AT A GLANCE
• Words can be weaponized to shape and even diminish thought.
• Such was the case in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
• In the real world, words are weaponized to shape thought.
• Herein we present many examples — some subtle, some not so subtle.
George Orwell, in his dystopian novel 1984, described an inversion of language called Newspeak. Merriam-Webster.com notes that “Newspeak was … in Orwell’s words, ‘designed to diminish the range of thought.’ Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes. The word has caught on in general use to refer to confusing or deceptive bureaucratic jargon.”
The totalitarian oligarchs who ran Orwell’s fictional world were masters at using human language to control and manipulate the population. A classic scene in the book involved the central character, Winston Smith, and a philologist, Syme.
Syme was among those compiling the “Newspeak dictionary,” a work to create and define words. Sitting together in a cafeteria during their lunch break, Syme told Smith the purpose of his work — to destroy words. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words,” Syme explained. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?”
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