1984 Vocabulary & Key Concepts
Essential terms and challenging vocabulary from George Orwell’s 1984, designed for study, review, and
annotation.
Key Political & Social Terms
● Big Brother — The symbolic leader of the Party; a figurehead representing total surveillance and
control.
● The Party — The ruling political group that controls every aspect of life in Oceania.
● Ingsoc — Short for “English Socialism,” the official ideology of the Party.
● Thought Police — Secret police who hunt down and punish unorthodox thoughts.
● Thoughtcrime — The crime of thinking anything against the Party or its doctrine.
● Newspeak — The official, controlled language designed to limit freedom of thought.
● Oldspeak — Standard English; the older form of language that Newspeak is replacing.
● Doublethink — The ability to hold two contradictory beliefs at the same time and accept both.
● Crimestop — Instinctive stopping of any dangerous thought that could lead to heresy.
● Facecrime — An improper expression that reveals unorthodox thoughts.
● Ownlife — Individualism; a tendency to be alone or independent (seen as suspicious).
● Goodthink — Politically orthodox, correct thinking according to Party doctrine.
● Ungood — Newspeak for “bad”; removal of nuanced negative words.
● Plusgood / Doubleplusgood — Newspeak intensifiers for “very good” / “extremely good.”
● Telescreen — Two-way device used for both broadcasting propaganda and constant surveillance.
● Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) — Rewrites history and spreads propaganda.
● Ministry of Love (Miniluv) — Responsible for law, order, and punishment.
● Ministry of Peace (Minipax) — Responsible for war.
● Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) — Manages and falsifies economic affairs.
● Room 101 — Where prisoners face their worst fears.
● Two Minutes Hate — Daily ritual expressing hatred for Party enemies.
● Junior Anti-Sex League — Promotes chastity and loyalty to the Party.
● Proles — The working-class majority, kept uneducated.
Essential terms and challenging vocabulary from George Orwell’s 1984, designed for study, review, and
annotation.
Key Political & Social Terms
● Big Brother — The symbolic leader of the Party; a figurehead representing total surveillance and
control.
● The Party — The ruling political group that controls every aspect of life in Oceania.
● Ingsoc — Short for “English Socialism,” the official ideology of the Party.
● Thought Police — Secret police who hunt down and punish unorthodox thoughts.
● Thoughtcrime — The crime of thinking anything against the Party or its doctrine.
● Newspeak — The official, controlled language designed to limit freedom of thought.
● Oldspeak — Standard English; the older form of language that Newspeak is replacing.
● Doublethink — The ability to hold two contradictory beliefs at the same time and accept both.
● Crimestop — Instinctive stopping of any dangerous thought that could lead to heresy.
● Facecrime — An improper expression that reveals unorthodox thoughts.
● Ownlife — Individualism; a tendency to be alone or independent (seen as suspicious).
● Goodthink — Politically orthodox, correct thinking according to Party doctrine.
● Ungood — Newspeak for “bad”; removal of nuanced negative words.
● Plusgood / Doubleplusgood — Newspeak intensifiers for “very good” / “extremely good.”
● Telescreen — Two-way device used for both broadcasting propaganda and constant surveillance.
● Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) — Rewrites history and spreads propaganda.
● Ministry of Love (Miniluv) — Responsible for law, order, and punishment.
● Ministry of Peace (Minipax) — Responsible for war.
● Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty) — Manages and falsifies economic affairs.
● Room 101 — Where prisoners face their worst fears.
● Two Minutes Hate — Daily ritual expressing hatred for Party enemies.
● Junior Anti-Sex League — Promotes chastity and loyalty to the Party.
● Proles — The working-class majority, kept uneducated.
