Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the characteristic fictional milieu of author J.G. Ballard, typified by dystopian modernity, bleak artificial landscapes, and the psychological effects of technological, societal, and environmental developments.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Ballard +‎ -ian

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Ballardian.

Examples

  • Of of his most effective and affecting stories is one of the least "Ballardian" - "The Lost Leonardo."

    J.G. Ballard has passed away Adam Whitehead 2009

  • He earned the rare distinction of appearing as an adjective - "Ballardian" - in the Collins English Dictionary, referring to "dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments".

    Belfasttelegraph.co.uk - Frontpage RSS Feed 2009

  • The Collins English Dictionary, in defining "Ballardian," has established for all time a view of Ballard's mature work, work characterized by "dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments."

    Empire of the Surreal 2009

  • It goes on to cite the dictionary definition of "Ballardian" as especially suggestive of "dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments."

    Jan Herman: J.G. Ballard, R.I.P. 2009

  • But there's something about the ecology of gang life certainly strikes me as thoroughly 'Ballardian', if indeed such a term can describe certain 'bits of the world'.

    Larvatus Prodeo 2009

  • Mr. Ballard would eventually be deemed worthy of his own adjective, "Ballardian," defined by the Collins English Dictionary as "resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in Ballard's novels & stories, esp. dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes & the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments."

    post-gazette.com - News 2009

  • The fact that so many commentators seized on the word "Ballardian" to ­describe that programme is a tribute to how well his books foresaw the possible corruptions of broadcasting.

    The Guardian World News 2009

  • British author J.G. Ballard, a survivor of a Japanese prison camp whose vision was so dark and distinctive it was labeled "Ballardian" and who reached a wide audience with the autobiographical "Empire of the Sun," died Sunday, his agent said.

    post-gazette.com - News 2009

  • Ballard would eventually be deemed worthy of his own adjective, "Ballardian," defined by the Collins English Dictionary as "resembling or suggestive of the conditions described in Ballard's novels & stories, esp. dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes & the psychological effects of technological, social or environmental developments."

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2009

  • LONDON — Author J.G. Ballard, a survivor of a Japanese prison camp whose vision was so dark and distinctive it was labeled "Ballardian" and who reached a wide audience with the autobiographical ...

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Caribbean. Barbuda. A Ballardian enclave. The bored wives of neurosurgeons. Retired astronauts. Pharmaceuticals executives. The brochure looks like a virtual world. White concrete and ultramarine sky. A pristine end-point of modernity. I imagine silence that's really the low hum of air-conditioning and humidors. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.

    February 28, 2012